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CONTENTS

STAFF

On the Cover:

EDITOR/PUBLISHER: ADVERTISING DIRECTOR: ART DIRECTOR: DESIGN & WEBSITE: DESIGN & PRODUCTION: ADVERTISING SALES:

The old-time Appalachian moonshine trade finds its footing in a modern world. (Page 24) National Park Service photo

News Maggie alderman candidate charged with forgery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Ghost Town gunfighter may receive compensation after all . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 NC specialty license plates saved . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 State to build new crime lab in Western North Carolina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Surveillance cameras in Sylva’s parks to ward off vandals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Forest Hills finds willing candidate for mayor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Lack of funds may hold up construction of new Swain library . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Funeral home brings event center to Wayensville. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Town leader shines light on Main Street downtown traffic problems . . . . . 14 Macon County begins picking apart floodplain protections . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Committee forming to guide Cullowhee growth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Volunteers hope to glean leftover crops for food pantries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 School funding and teacher pay on the rocks in Macon County . . . . . . . . . 19

Opinion Being in the right place at the right time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Outdoors Running got you down? Try the aquabike . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Back Then Another exciting day in Bryson City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

CLASSIFIEDS: NEWS EDITOR: WRITING & EDITING:

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Man’s quest to flee town limits ends in charges

BY CAITLIN BOWLING STAFF WRITER candidate for Maggie Valley alderman was indicted this month on eight felony charges, including forgery.

The July 19 indictment alleges that Joe Maniscalco forged documents and knowingly tried to pass them off as valid records in an attempt to get out of paying town property taxes.

Specifically, Maniscalco presented documents to the county register of deeds office claiming his property was no longer within the town limits and asking the county’s land records be updated accordingly, which would in turn expunge him from the town’s tax rolls and wipe out his $2,450 town tax bill. However, Maniscalco’s property is in fact in the town limits — even though he wishes it wasn’t — and the documents he presented were allegedly fabricated.

One of the documents Maniscalco passed was an alleged resolution from the town approving Maniscalco’s property to be removed from the town limits. But the town never passed such a resolution nor has such a document in its files.

Maniscalco claims he was given the fake documents and is the victim of a set up by town officials.

“They say that I made up a resolution, that I forged this and forged that,” Maniscalco said. “The truth is that I got it from (Town Manager) Tim Barth.”

However, Barth said no such thing happened.

“I did not hand him a resolution,” Barth said. “I explained the other day that there was no resolution.”

Maniscalco is charged with five counts of common law uttering, two counts of forgery and one count of obtaining property under false pretenses, since his end goals was to get

Smoky Mountain News

July 31-Aug. 6, 2013

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out of paying property taxes. Each of the eight felony charges carries a maximum of 12 months in prison.

Following the indictment, Maniscalco was arrested and then released on $50,000 bond. The original bond was $130,000, but it was reduced on the condition that Maniscalco have no contact with any Maggie Valley town employees and refrain from being on town hall property. Town employees had previously complained of being harassed and threatened by him.

Maniscalco has been at odds with the town since 2009, when his gated home on three acres was annexed into the town limits. It was one of 130 properties included in the large-scale annexation.

However, he has repeatedly argued that his home was unfairly annexed and that he

duce the necessary legislation to the General Assembly. The town sent another letter along the same lines to state officials in August 2012.

The 3-2 town board vote supporting Maniscalco’s de-annexation merely resulted in a letter being sent to Raleigh. The town never passed a resolution, despite Maniscalco producing one.

“It’s not normal that a resolution would be done,” DeSimone said.

However, no such bill was ever introduced, so Maniscalco’s property still remains in Maggie Valley’s town limits.

Maniscalco decided to take matters into his own hands earlier this year, according to a Waynesville Police Department investigation. Maniscalco went to the Land Records and Register of Deeds offices in the historic

“From what I’ve seen, I think it’s ridiculous. I think the timing was very odd too. This all came out just as he decided to run for office.” The investigation has been ongoing for months, however — Mike Matthews, Maggie Valley Alderman

doesn’t receive adequate town services in exchange for the property taxes he pays.

Only last February, after a shift in the majority leadership on the town board, did Maniscalco make any headway. Three board members sided with him and voted in favor of de-annexing him. Mayor Ron DeSimone and Alderwoman Saralyn Price voted against it.

But the de-annexation had to be approved in Raleigh before it became official. The town sent a letter to state representatives in March 2012 asking them to intro-

courthouse on Jan. 10 asking for his property records and deeds to be changed reflecting that he is longer part of Maggie Valley, saving about $2,450 a year in property taxes.

That day, Maniscalco filed three documents with the two county departments.

The documents include a de-annexation resolution allegedly signed by DeSimone and Town Clerk Vickie Best, a typed letter signed by the three aldermen who initially supported Maniscalco’s request for de-annexation and an edited version of the letter from Town Manager Tim Barth to state officials

dated last August.

It just so happened Attorney Chuck Dickson, who serves as Maggie’s town attorney, was at the Register of Deeds office and overheard Maniscalco. Dixon inquired with the clerk when Maniscalco left about what he had filed.

“From there of course, everything started to unravel,” DeSimone said.

There were several indications that the documents weren’t in fact official documents.

In the alleged resolution, both Aldermen Philip Wight and Alderman Mike Matthews’ names were misspelled, and the language in the document deviated from the typical language of a real town resolution.

“They noticed things were wrong with the document. They weren’t written as they should be,” said Det. Tamara Vandermolen with the Waynesville Police Department.

Maniscalco said Town Manager Tim Barth had given him the resolution and told him that he would need to file it with the county.

Although Maniscalco now claims that Barth set him up, Vandermolen said he gave conflicting stories about where the documents came from during a five-hour interview with her.

“He initially told me he got them from one individual and then another individual,” Vandermolen said.

A resolution matching the one Maniscalco filed with Land Records and Register of Deeds was not found on file at the Maggie Valley town hall during the investigation, though one was found with the same identification number, Resolution 07-41. But the corresponding number is for a 2007 resolution on a different matter altogether.

However, Maniscalco argued that he didn’t know the resolution

F

was falsified. “They set me up with the paperwork that wasn’t going to pass,� Maniscalco said.

Current Maggie Valley Alderman Mike Matthews supports Maniscalco’s claim of innocence. “From what I’ve seen, I think it’s ridiculous,� Matthew said. “I think the timing was very odd too. This all came out just as he decided to run for office.� The investigation has been ongoing for months, however.

Matthews called the indictment an attempt at a “Hail Mary� pass to ruin Maniscalco by the mayor and Barth. “There isn’t much that I wouldn’t put

past them,� he said. “They have done everything they can to discredit Joe.�

Despite the criminal charges, Maniscalco still plans to run for the town board. “I am running for alderman because I have to straighten out town hall,� he said. “We want to remove the mayor. As far as I’m concerned, he isn’t doing the right thing.�

If Maniscalco were to win, it is unclear whether he would then be allowed on town hall property.

Maniscalco will have his initial court hearing on Aug. 26 in Haywood County Superior Court.

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said insurance companies might delay paying a claim if someone refused the drug test, but it does not mean the injured person won’t see any money ever. “That does not necessarily mean he is not entitled to benefits,� Teich said.

Last week, Bradley’s luck seemed to take a turn for the better when a worker’s compensation insurance representative contacted him and told him to send them any medical bills. Although being assigned a caseworker doesn’t guarantee anything, Bradley said he feels more confident that he will get something for his injury. “I have to,� he said. “I did nothing wrong.�

Bradley said he doesn’t know how much his health care will cost once all is said and done, but it won’t be cheap. “I’ve never looked at a bill. I don’t know,â€? he said. “I am sure the emergency room and all that had to be ‌ well, you know how all that is with medical bills.â€?

If someone is not awarded worker’s compensation or feel they were treated unfairly, they can file a complaint with N.C. Industrial Commission, which can adjudicate disputes.

When asked about the worker’s compensation, Presley said she encouraged the insurance company to pay Bradley. “I have told the worker’s compensation to do everything they can to help Robert (Bradley),� Presley said.

Bradley no longer works at Ghost Town since the injury. Presley said Bradley quit, but Bradley contended that he was fired.

The other gunfighter involved in the accident was fired. Two other gunfighters walked off the job in protest over their coworkers no longer having jobs.

Meanwhile, the N.C. Department of Labor is investigating the amusement park following a complaint that no medical personnel were on-site to tend to the gunfighter’s injury and no water available for the injured person to wash the blood from his hands. Presley has denied the claims. “All the first aid and everything is completely up-to-date,� Presley said.

The results of the investigation are expected in the next couple of weeks.

JOHN HAMEL M.D.

July 31-Aug. 6, 2013

BY CAITLIN BOWLING STAFF WRITER Ghost Town in the Sky gunfighter wounded during a staged fight has new hope of being compensated for his injury after all, despite initially being told he wouldn’t.

Robert Bradley, a longtime champion of the Maggie Valley amusement park, has worked on and off at Ghost Town for decades as a gunfighter in the mock Wild West Town — arguably the most popular attraction within the park. Throughout the day, Bradley and other actors staged shootouts in the fictitious town for guests.

However, a couple of weeks ago during a scene that Bradley had performed hundreds of times before, he was hit in the right thigh by an unknown projectile from the gun. The incident was deemed an accident and in no way suspicious, but did cause a major injury.

The object lodged itself about a 1.5 inches into Bradley’s leg. Bleeding profusely, he was rushed to the emergency room, where he was asked to take a drug test.

The insurance company that carries Ghost Town’s worker’s compensation policy requires a drug test before awarding claims, said Ghost Town owner Alaska Presley. “Worker’s compensation demands that,� she said.

However, Bradley refused, saying he believes drug tests are a way for insurance companies to try and get out of paying worker’s compensation. At the time, he was unsure whether he would receive compensation after being injured or get his hospital bills covered.

It is not uncommon for companies to stipulate drug tests in the event of workplace injuries as a prerequisite in its policies. “If the employer has a policy of drug testing after an accident, then the employee has to take the drug test, and most places do have a policy of that,� said Lawyer Henry Teich of Grimes Teich Anderson law firm, which specializes in personal injury and has offices in Asheville and Waynesville. But, “There is no hard and fast rule about that.�

Although Teich does not know the specifics of Bradley’s case, in general, he

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Specialty license plates rescued

David Smith of Waynesville has had four different specialty license plates over the years. He’s drawn first and foremost by the attractive images and also for the statement they make. Becky Johnson photo

Smoky Mountain News

July 31-Aug. 6, 2013

BY B ECKY JOHNSON STAFF WRITER olorful specialty license plates have been spared the gallows thanks to a bill passed in the final hours of the General Assembly last week.

License plates embellished with a Smokies black bear, the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway, an Appalachian Trial hiker, a stately elk — and a few dozen others — were going to be stripped from bumpers in 2015. They would have been replaced with a far duller version sporting a small, simple logo relegated to one corner.

But two years of lobbying and campaigning to save the plates finally paid off. The General Assembly passed a bill to save the specialty license plates, undoing previous legislation that called for their demise.

Convincing legislators to go to bat for the specialty plates wasn’t easy in such a volatile state political climate.

“Quite frankly, there were some huge issues going on in Raleigh. It made it extremely difficult. No one wanted to expend their political capital,” said Holly Demuth with the Friends of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Waynesville.

The specialty plates are a money maker for myriad causes behind the veil of the eyecatching images. Motorists cough up a surcharge for the specialty plates, raising $15 to $30 a pop for their respective organization.

For Friends of the Smokies, the iconic black bear license plate brings in $400,000 a year to support special projects on the North Carolina side of the park, from field trips for school children to the construction of a new visitor center.

If the plate lost its aesthetic appeal, “We 8

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anticipated a dramatic drop,” Demuth said. that 80 percent of those with Parkway plates For many motorists, however, losing the got them because they liked the way they pretty license plates would simply make life a looked. little less fun.

Replace the pretty design with a basic logo David Smith of Waynesville has proudly and sales were sure to drop. sported a few different license plates during For Smith, his various license plates are a the years — from Friends of the Smokies to way to display a little home state pride in his Confederate Veterans to Rocky Mountain Elk For Friends of the Smokies, the iconic Foundation. His latest bumper attire, though, black bear license plate brings in is a person canoeing $400,000 a year to support special down a tree-studded river in the name of projects on the North Carolina side of N.C. State Parks.

Smith likes the the park. scene, and the cause.

“It goes to the park service,” Smith said.

Hopefully, the extra money he pays for the plate will help keep overlooks along the Blue Ridge Parkway cleared, he added.

For the record, the Parkway is a national park — so it doesn’t benefit from Smith’s state park plate.

But hey, a pretty picture and noble cause line of work as a traveling industrial boiler are reason enough to buy a plate — even if mechanic. The toolbox on his truck is plasthe exact cause is lost in the details. tered with dozens of stickers — layer on layer “Yeah, it’s the picture,” Smith said of how — from jobs he’s done all over the country. But he chooses his plates. “The picture means it’s the license plate on his bumper that allows more than anything.” him to take a little slice of home on the road.

And that’s why so many thought the full “It kind of says a statement about where I color plates were worth fighting for. A survey live,” said Smith. by the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation found As Smith emerged from the license plate

office in Waynesville this week, he was getting itchy for a new look. He fancies the license plate with a lighthouse and coastal scene — which supports Ducks Unlimited — and might trade in his canoeist for an ocean theme next go-around.

“I like the ones with water,” Smith said.

Friends of the Smokies and the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation orchestrated the most visible campaign to save the plates during the past two years. They worked legislators directly but also sounded the alarm within the ranks of their own membership, asking supporters to call and write their representatives.

They paid for “Save the Plates” billboards and even hired a lobbyist.

“We have been using many different avenues and approaches,” Demuth said.

Sen. Ralph Hise, R-Burnsville, said the money raised from the specialty plates is helpful to the whole region. The Parkway and Smokies plates alone have raised $6 million since their creation to fund special projects and initiatives in the two parks.

“They help promote the area and help build travel and tourism,” Hise said.

N.C. Rep. Joe Sam Queen, D-Waynesville, said the last-minute bill saving specialty plates was a “a ray of sunshine in otherwise a cloudy legislative year.”

Queen fought for the legislation not only to save existing full-color plates but also because he wanted to pave the way for a new plate for the “brookie,” the Southern Appalachian native brook trout. The money raised by the new plate will go to the N.C. Wildlife Commission for brook trout restoration.

He called it a win-win for WNC, citing the $200 million economic impact of trout fishing in the mountains.

“Trout fishing enthusiasts can now have a tag with our own native speckled brook trout,” Queen said. “It will support trout fishing and clean waters and all the things that go with it in Western North Carolina.”

A CROWDED FIELD

The list of causes with a specialty plate is a long one, some 200 in fact, and growing all the time.

New to the game this year are the N.C. Bluegrass Association, the N.C. Cattlemen’s Association, Pancreatic Cancer Awareness, the Sea Turtle Rescue Team, the Sneed’s Ferry Shrimp Festival, a youth golfing organization, Mission Hospital Foundation, the brook trout, Charlotte’s minor league hockey team and the Asheville-based environmental organization River Link — just to name a few.

Demuth has become an expert on specialty plate legislation during the past two years as she tracked the fate of the plates in the General Assembly. She regularly listened in legislative committee meetings via live audio stream from her Waynesville office whenever specialty plates appeared on the discussion docket. She recalled a joke by the chairman of the N.C. House Transportation Committee during one of the many hearings.

“He said, ‘For all you freshmen legislators, this is our annual license plate bill. If we haven’t captured every cause or organization in your district, don’t worry.

F

Next year, we will get those two that are left,’” Demuth recounted.

Demuth isn’t worried about the competition these newcomers on the scene potentially pose, however.

“Full color plates represent only 1 percent of all North Carolina plates. So there is plenty of room before we hit market saturation,” Demuth said.

The rampant number of specialty plates likely helped on the political front. There are so many, from every corner of the state, that just about every legislator would have had fconstituents back home angry over the prospect of full-color plates being axed.

designs made the numbers hard to read, according to legislators wanting to phase out the plates.

So Friends of the Smokies and the Parkway Foundation brokered a compromise: a white rectangular background behind the numbers and letters but the overall image on the plate remaining intact.

In the meantime, the N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles and N.C. Highway Patrol did their own assessment of the specialty plates. They deemed the plates easily legible by cops and toll booth cameras with the addition of a white background behind the numbers.

“They both recommended the specialty plate program be continued,” Demuth said.

“That was huge, to have the safety of the plates confirmed by those on the ground that actually deal with the plates. For them to say

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HOW IT STARTED

Legibility was proffered as the reason for axing the specialty plates in 2011. Full-plate

Currently, the state runs a crime lab in Asheville but it doesn’t conduct the full suite of testing like the lab in the Triad or the one in the Triangle. from the lab and further delays the processing of evidence in other cases.

On average in North Carolina, it takes up to a year to process blood or urine samples in DWI cases. To have a computer analyzed, investigators wait 12 to 18 months.

“A lot of times when something goes to trial, it depends on that evidence,” Cope said.

Meanwhile, depending on the crime, an alleged perpetrator may spend months in jail before the trial. While it is not necessarily because of an evidence hold up, swift results can help move the judicial process along.

In the end, paying for 19 new toxicology analysts could save the state money, Det. Bruce Warren of the Haywood County sheriff ’s office said, if that means spending less on housing alleged criminals.

“They would be a whole lot better off,” Warren said.

The Haywood Chamber of Commerce Women in Business group will host “Your Performance On Stage … Flourish, Engage, Inspire” from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Aug. 8 at the Gateway Club with Susan Belcher, the wife of Western Carolina University’s chancellor.

Belcher’s performing career spans opera, music, theatre and stage directing. Her

News in brief Catamount 101: Ladies Love Football will be held from 5:30-9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 9, at E.J. Whitmire Stadium/Bob Waters Field at Western Carolina University.

Watch the team practice and shop as Catamount 101 kicks off with a cocktail reception. Then enjoy dinner on the concourse with fellow female Catamount fans followed by a series of football-related activities demonstrated by the Western Carolina coaches, football head coach Mark Speir, and players as part of the 101 learning experience.

Catamount Clothing & Gifts and MedWest are sponsoring the ladies-only preseason clinic.

All participants will receive an official Catamount 101 T-shirt, dinner, drinks, gifts and more for $35 registration by Aug. 2. A select number of walk-up spots on the day of the event will be available for $40. Email slconley@wcu.edu or 828.227.2401.

Season tickets on sale now at 800.344.6928 or www.CatamountSports.com.

••• Angel Medical Center in Franklin is hosting a memorial butterfly release at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 8, to remember hospice patients. The ceremony will feature music, inspirational readings and a time of prayer, followed by the release of live butterflies by all in attendance.

it was not an issue was a turning point.”

Going forward, full-color plates must have the white background behind the numbers. But anyone with an existing fullcolor plate can keep it rather than trading it back in.

It’s unclear just how real the safety argument ever was, however. One widely circulated explanation in political circles blamed the near demise of specialty plates on little more than sour grapes.

A few legislators had unsuccessfully tried to pioneer a Choose Life anti-abortion license plate. When they couldn’t get it through, they decided to kill the plates for everyone.

Incidentally, a Choose Life plate has since been approved by state legislators — it’s full color — but it quickly ran into legal challenges over inappropriate political overtones and it remains hung up in court.

“The program is intended to provide a nurturing, renewing experience for people grieving the loss of a loved one,” said Rev. Vic Greene, Angel Hospice Chaplain. “The ceremony is really a celebration of the lives of those being remembered and honored.”

828.349.6639.

••• The 2013 Global Leadership Summit featuring 13 speakers on the topic of “Lead Where You Are” will be telecast live from Chicago from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Aug. 8 and 9, in Stuart Auditorium at Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center.

Speakers at the summit include former U.S. Secretary of State Gen. Colin Powell; Bill Hybels, founder and senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church; Mark Burnett, four-time Emmy Award winner and executive television producer; and Liz Wiseman, bestselling author and executive strategy and leadership consultant.

Register. www.willowcreek.com/summit or 800.570.9812.

••• A coalition of Western North Carolina groups will host Mountain Moral Monday from 5-6:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 5, at Pack Square Park in Asheville. The nonpartisan event aims to highlight the abuse of power and cruel policies coming out of the N.C. statehouse and will feature Rev. Dr. William Barber, president of the state NAACP. www.mountainmoralmonday.com.

Not all the state’s specialty license plates rise to the level of full-color designs. There’s some 200 specialty plates, and only around 40 of them have full-plate designs. The rest sport only a tiny logo or thumbnail image in a corner of the plate.

The latest specialty plate bill not only saved existing full-color plates but paved the way for their proliferation.

Those who previously only had small logos may see doors open now.

The Friends of the Mountains to Sea Trail, for example, is hoping to upgrade from a small logo to a full-color plate under the new legislation.

Before the state will manufacture a specialty plate, there must be at least 300 orders.

But now under the latest license plate legislation, a group that hits 500 plate orders can upgrade to a full color plate.

9

Smoky Mountain News

will only have an hour drive to the lab and won’t have to waste the day in transit.

“It’s one thing to drive to Hendersonville.

It is a completely other to drive all the way to Raleigh,” said Waynesville Police Chief Bill Hollingsed, who advocated in Raleigh for the new lab. “That is just not a real productive way to operate.”

The change also means that experts are just a quick trip away. In some cases, particularly DWIs, the toxicologist have had to travel from Raleigh to Western North Carolina to spend the day in court. It takes analysts away

extraordinary talents have been displayed on stages across the U.S. Belcher trained at the Chicago Lyric Opera Center for American Artists, where she debuted in the role of angel Zephon in the world premiere of Pendereski’s Paradise Lost. Her musical and straight theatre performances have allowed her to be levitated by magician David Copperfield and romanced by actor John Goodman.

Cost is $25 for Chamber Members and $30 for non-members. Registration required.

828.456.3021 or info@haywoodnc.com or www.haywoodchamber.com.

July 31-Aug. 6, 2013

BY CAITLIN BOWLING STAFF WRITER he recently signed state budget bill will fund the hiring of 19 toxicology analysts for a new western crime lab, expanding available evidence testing in Western North Carolina.

The plan has excited law enforcement agents who will benefit from it.

“That will be awesome,” said Sgt. Tony Cope with the Haywood County Sheriff ’s Office.

Currently, the state runs a crime lab in Asheville but it doesn’t conduct the full suite of testing like the lab in the Triad or the one in the Triangle. Law enforcement must send much of its evidence to the main lab in Raleigh for testing and wait months for it to return, but the 19 new analysts as well as the construction of a new lab is expected to expedite the turnaround time for evidence testing.

“Hopefully, if everything falls into place like it looks like it is, it will definitely make our job more efficient,” said Chief Deputy Jeff Haynes of the Haywood County Sheriff ’s Office.

The new hires will work out of the lab in Asheville until a new crime lab building is constructed. The budget set aside $1.4 million to create a plan for the new lab, which will be located in Edneyville next to the Western Justice Academy. The total estimated cost is $16.8 million.

With the new lab, evidence from law enforcement in Western North Carolina won’t have nearly as far to travel before it’s tested.

Law enforcement can’t always package evidence into a box, stamp it and ship it certified mail down east like a sweater sold on eBay. The evidence has to go through a chain of command or is so crucial that officers don’t want to risk the mail system. The only other way to get the evidence down to the state crime lab is to drive it more than four hours to Raleigh.

But once the new lab is in place, officers

Women in Business to host ‘Your Performance on Stage’ luncheon

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Law enforcement excited about new WNC crime lab

July 31-Aug. 6, 2013

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Vandalism prompts Sylva to mount security cameras in parks

BY ANDREW KASPER The Poteet Park bathrooms have also been STAFF WRITER the target of vandals. Schaeffer said the ersistent vandals have pushed Sylva steady barrage of damage has forced him to decision-makers to ramp up the town’s forego replacing items such as stall partitions surveillance program. and to cover the bathroom dry wall with panComing soon to two Sylva parks are sever- els of plywood to protect it. al new security cameras. Both Bryson and While the town has part-time park staff, and Poteet parks have suffered a rash of vandal- the bathrooms are usually locked in the evening, ism, from smashed bathroom sinks to graffiti. it is not enough to stop the perpetrators.

Town Public Works Director Dan Schaeffer The town will spend $12,000 on the camhopes the installation of the three cameras, eras. Schaeffer believes it will pay for itself two in Bryson Park and one in Poteet, will before long. He would have liked them soondeter further er, but the town’s destruction. He also budget has been “I think the board just hopes it point law tight. realized we can keep enforcement in the “I think the right direction to board just realized spending money repairing catch those responwe can keep spendsible — so far, the or we can get the cameras.” ing money repairpolice don’t have ing, or we can get — Dan Shaeffer, suspects in even the the cameras,” Sylva public works director most egregious Schaeffer said. cases of vandalism.

The board voted “I don’t know what else to do,” Schaeffer unanimously at its last meeting to purchase said. “At least we can see who’s there.” the cameras.

The Bryson Park bathrooms recently reParks are particularly vulnerable to vandalopened after being closed for more than a ism, and no town it seems is without its share. month after the bathrooms were destroyed in In Waynesville, repeated vandalism of some early June. More than $1,000 in damage was outdoor park restrooms culminated with caused — holes were punched in the walls, stall arson, forcing the restrooms to be shuttered dividers were torn down, and toilets smashed. indefinitely. The Waynesville recreation center The town even offered a $100 reward to catch even had a break-in two years ago where vanthe culprit, or culprits, but without success. dalism occurred throughout the building. In That incident was only one of many dur- Bryson City, the old N.C. 288 park is paid rouing recent years. tine visits by vandals who do damage with

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Forest Hills mayor race down to the wire, but not in the way you might think

BY ANDREW KASPER STAFF WRITER he clock was ticking. There were just two days to go for mayor candidates to step up to the plate in the small village of Forest Hills — and still no takers.

The first deadline had already come and gone without anyone offering their name — and with it their time and energy — to manage the day-to-day business of the primarily volunteer-run town.

So the sign-up period was extended for an extra week.

But now it was Wednesday, and with the new deadline looming come noon on Friday, it wasn’t looking good.

Would the tiny Jackson County town be left without a top leader come November’s election?

“I don’t know,” said Councilman Ron Mau, when asked last week who would be village’s next mayor. “Somebody asked if I was going to and I said ‘No, I’m busy enough doing what I’m doing.’”

And this time it didn’t look like the sitting mayor, Jim Wallace, would rescue the village at the last minute. In 2009, Wallace was hiking in the Swiss Alps and missed the filing deadline, only to return and run a write-in campaign, which he won.

This time, Wallace had already publicly announced he would not seek another term, and then promptly went AWOL during the filing period.

Second-hand reports pointed toward some sort of fami-

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The bathrooms at Sylva’s Poteet Park are one of the hotspots for ongoing vandalism in the towns public parks. Donated photo everything from spray paint cans to shot guns.

In Sylva, the town park cameras will forge new territory in the area of town surveillance.

But Sylva Mayor Maurice Moody says any “Big Brother” concerns are misplaced.

“I’m not concerned about privacy issues in a public park,” Moody said. “If you don’t want to be observed — don’t be in the park.”

The bulk of the town’s vandalism is concentrated in those two parks, said Police Chief David Woodard. And soon, most of what happens in those parks will be piped directly

ly vacation. One village council member confirmed by looking in his driveway that he had probably skipped town for the time being. Another said he didn’t think the mayor had been at church in the past few weeks.

Neither did Wallace return email messages or voicemail messages left by a reporter.

“I’m guessing he’s probably out of town,” Mau said.

Either way, his absence left the rest of the village councilmember’s staring blankly at each other.

It has been a challenge for Forest Hills, with just more than 300 registered voters, to fill up the ranks of its government, said Councilman Clark Corwin. From the planning board to mayor, the tasks are plenty, but the selection of warm bodies is small.

Originally a golf course development, Forest Hills incorporated as a town in the late 1990s, reputedly for the purpose of imposing zoning laws to keep out college student housing. Yet it still resembles a well-organized neighborhood association more than a town in some ways — though its affairs must be managed nonetheless.

And the mayor is the one always stuck with making the follow-up phone calls, doing background research on issues, fielding complaints from residents, the list goes on.

“It’s a job, and you’ve got a real small pool of people to draw from,” Corwin said. “It takes a lot of time — yes, it does.”

Corwin will also seek reelection for his board seat and, like Mau, will run unopposed.

Although he liked his spot on the council, he was in no way looking to be mayor.

“I would miss a lot of meetings and not be able to prepare well,” Corwin said. “It’s just not even possible.”

By Thursday morning, Forest Hills still didn’t have a mayor lined up. If Friday’s deadline came and went, Forest Hills’ mayor seat would then fall to a write-in candidate.

into the police station.

In a best-case scenario the cameras will deter the destruction of public property. But if not, they may provide the a lead to identify the culprits.

“I’d like to catch somebody doing it really,” Woodard said. But without video footage or forthcoming witnesses, it has been hard to create a lead, although Woodard suspects it is misdirected youth. “There are just so many kids, and the parks are utilized so much it’s hard to nail it down.”

But, “If no one writes in…?” asked Jackson County Board of Elections Director Lisa Lovedahl. Well, she said, “there’s always a write-in.”

Lovedahl saw exactly that scenario play out in 2009 in Webster, another of Jackson County’s tiny towns. Only two candidates signed up to run for five open board seats.

When Election Day rolled around, however, more than 20 write-in names appeared on ballots. As a side note, only 42 people actually voted.

“There’s always a write-in.”

— Lisa Lovedahl, Jackson County Board of Elections Director

It was late morning Thursday, when an answer materialized in the form of Kolleen Begley. As former Forest Hills clerk and finance officer, and current president of the local homeowners association, Begley is no stranger to village government.

If elected — and her chances look good since she is unopposed — she’s planning to take on village issues like maintaining good roads, public safety and working with surrounding communities.

But with her hands full as a marketing coordinator and controller in the real estate sector, even she was hesitant to take on the extra duties. She admitted she was waiting to see if anybody else committed to run and that the time commitment was on her mind.

“Yes,” she wrote in an email. “This is why I waited to see if others were going to run.”

For the record, a dispatch from soon-to-be former mayor Wallace arrived Tuesday just before press time. This candidate filing period, it wasn’t the Alps — it was a trip to Africa.

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Swain library dreams of new digs despite funding realities

BY CAITLIN BOWLING STAFF WRITER ryson City’s library has storied yet humble beginnings — born from a suitcase of books toted around town by a lady named Marianna Black in the 1930s.

The collection eventually found a home in a room over the police station. And finally, a library building to call its own, named after Marianna herself, was built in early 1970s.

But there’s where the story ends, for now.

The Marianna Black Library is still in the same library building, but has long since outgrown the space.

“We are pushing 45 years later with no progress,” said Librarian Jeff Delfield.

A few years ago, library leaders in Swain County started laying the groundwork for building a new library, including gathering input about what patrons would want and hiring a consulting firm to steer the process. Last year, Dubberly Associates issued a report based on the findings of what a new library should entail.

However, a new library is estimated to cost about $5.9 million. Library leaders continue to plug away at a layout and design for a new library, but there is still no telling when — or if — it might happen. The county hasn’t pledged any money for a new library. A site hasn’t even

July 31-Aug. 6, 2013

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been selected, let alone purchased.

“It all depends on the county to be perfectly honest,” Delfield said.

However, the county may not be ready for some time. In fact, County Manager Kevin King said the board has not even discussed the prospect of a new library since last year when a study found that the library was falling behind its peers in terms of space and amenities.

The Swain County Board of Commissioners faced major budget cuts plus a property tax increase this year to make up for ongoing budget shortfalls — meaning there’s plenty of competition for extra money and little of it to go around.

Nonetheless, a committee is forging ahead and crafting plans for a new library, including hiring a design firm to draw up the layout of the new library. The Swain library is part of the tri-county Fontana Regional Library system, which for now is backing the effort.

Once a firm is hired, committee member and library Board of Trustee Chester Bartlett said he hopes a first rendering can be completed by early fall.

A series of public meetings were held to collect the public’s wishes and desires for a new library, which will be the basis for the design.

Once a design is ready, more meeting will be held.

The Marianna Black Library building in Swain County is more than 40 years old and too small to meet all of the library goers’ needs.

Caitlin Bowling photo

“We want their feedback for this effort,” Bartlett said.

Also once a mock-up is available, the library will start its own fund-raising efforts.

The committee and library leaders want to ensure that everything is in place for the county when money becomes available.

“It is just making sure we are ready when the county’s ready,” Delfield said. “We don’t want to be scrambling.”

Both Jackson and Macon counties constructed new libraries during the last few years. Jackson County spent $7.4 million to both build a new library and renovate the adjacent historic courthouse. Macon County dedicated nearly $4.6 million on its new library.

Private fundraising played a critical role as well in both projects. Jackson County Friends of the Library raised an additional $1.8 million to outfit and furnish the library and Macon Friends of the Library organization raised $1 million for its library.

It is unknown whether Swain County, with its far smaller population, lower per capita income, and smaller business community, would be able to muster the same level of private fundraising that Jackson and Macon did.

On the most basic level, the new Swain library will be one floor and an estimated 33,000 square feet, with a teen section, small meeting rooms, a technology lab and of course, plenty of parking.

“We are all very excited about this,” Bartlett said.

The committee for the new library has not chosen a location for the building. There is no room to expand in its current space on Rector Street, just a short walk from the downtown businesses. Most of all it lacks adequate parking — one of the biggest reasons a new library is needed — so a larger property is needed.

“There is no parking. Every legal and illegal spot is being taken,” Delfield said. “I’ve seen people drive away.”

Properties looked at include Lakeview Drive near Swain County High School, near the Ingles off U.S. 19 and adjacent to the Sleep Inn on Veterans Boulevard. However, how much money the county can put toward the project and how well the fund-raising efforts fare will determine where the new library goes.

“Ultimately, it will be decided by the available funds,” Bartlett said.

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BY CAITLIN BOWLING include a small chapel, will be available for STAFF WRITER other events as well, such as wedding recepnew event center in Waynesville could tions, birthdays or family reunions. be just the beginning of the vitalization Wells Funeral Homes has two locations, of Wall Street, said Wells Greeley, one in Waynesville and one in Canton, and owner of Wells Funeral Homes and employs 16 people full-time and 20 partCremation Services. time. The number of employees may grow “I am excited,” Greeley said. once the event center opens, Greeley said.

The family-owned funeral home compaThe company will need someone to help ny is celebrating its 125th anniversary by manage that side of the business. turning what was once The Mountaineer The old printing press building sits mereprinting press building into a multi-purpose ly 11 feet away from the funeral home and event center for receptions, meetings, banwill allow the company to grow without havquets and gatherings.

“It’s obviously to supplement our funeral home,” Greeley said.

But “We are also doing this to give back to the community.”

The new facility is “a little look into the future,” Greeley said.

Oftentimes, family members want to hang out together and perhaps enjoy a meal after a funeral or memorial service.

“Maybe it’s the first The facility, which will also include a time that family has been able to get togethsmall chapel, will be available for other er — for the funeral,” events as well, such as wedding recepGreeley said.

The center, which tions, birthdays or family reunions. will include a small kitchen area for catered food and a 125-seat reception hall, will allow ing to build onto its current Waynesville families to do that. The event center is a tesfacility. The center is expected to open sometament to the changing face of the funeral time next year. business, offering flexibility that an increasThe company purchased the building last ing number of people are seeking to have a year for $365,000. The building sat empty for non-traditional funeral service. a couple years after The Mountaineer started However, the facility, which will also outsourcing the printing of its newspaper.

Expires 8/31/13

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Diagonal parking a conundrum for downtown Sylva

BY ANDREW KASPER STAFF WRITER usiness owner Marion Jones claims to sit on Sylva’s Main Street watching traffic more than any other person in town.

As he puts it, “Ain’t nobody sat on that street as much as I have.”

Planted in his favorite chair in front of his shop, Jones Country Store, he can definitely say there is something wrong with Main Street — in every aspect from its blind parking spaces to the speed of traffic.

Exactly how to fix the problems is what downtown patrons, merchants and town leaders hope to figure out as they move forward on a mission to improve Sylva’s main downtown thoroughfare.

“We’ve go to do something,” Jones said. “I don’t think they can make it any worse.”

Main Street traffic is a longstanding safety issue in Sylva, one oft discussed but never acted on. Now, the Sylva town board is asking residents for their input. The town is hosting a public hearing at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 5, at town hall for the public to sound off on problems they see with the street and possible solutions to them.

The biggest complaint on Main Street is parking. Main Street is one-way, with diagonal parking spots. Drivers are mostly blind when backing out of the diagonal spaces into lanes of oncoming traffic. Oversized vehicles make that situation even worse, oftentimes jutting out into the lanes and blocking the view of anyone parked next to them attempting to back out.

Drivers often enlist a friend when backing out of a Main Street parking stall to stand outside the car and give the all clear signal. Jones

July 31-Aug. 6, 2013

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The diagonal parking stalls on Sylva’s Main Street are the cause of a number of the town’s traffic problems.

Andrew Kasper photo

says he acts as the lookout for little old ladies leaving their downtown parking spots as cars come flying by.

“The fastest place in town is right in front of my store,” Jones said. “They’re flying when they go through there.”

While some problems that face Main Street will take in-depth planning, the parking problem might be addressed with a little bit of paint.

Town leaders have kicked around the idea of marking off the back end of the slanted parking stalls, to let drivers of oversized vehicle know when they are parked too far back, or are just too plain long.

“If your vehicle is over this line, the end of

your car is in the lane,” Town Manager Paige Roberson said. “It’s a safety concern.”

Another idea to make parking safer is to change the angle of the slanted stalls and make them closer to parallel with the street. It may reduce the number of cars that can squeeze downtown, but the less severe angle should make leaving a parking spot easier.

Another idea is to reverse the parking stalls, so they are pointing in the other direction. That way drivers have to back into their spaces, but then simply drive forward to leave.

However, all these possible remedies may in turn cause unforeseen complications. That’s why board members are holding the forum.

“My theory is you don’t want to do anything then find out that it’s worse than it was,” said Harold Hensley, a town board member.

With each proposal comes a potential downside.

Reversing the parking stalls might deter passersby from stopping at downtown business if they are confused about how to park in a slanted space facing the opposite direction than they were driving on the one-way street.

Meanwhile, painting a line directly behind the parking stalls might confuse out-of-town drivers into thinking the lane is wider than it really is, leading them too far left.

“We don’t want to run them into the curb extensions,” said Reuben Moore, a N.C.

Department of Transportation traffic engineer stationed in Sylva.

Redrawing the parking lines — even though it would sacrifice the number of spaces — is the easiest fixes being floated for Main Street.

But there is also talk of turning it back into a two-lane street. Or perhaps utilizing a traffic island. Or making the left lane turn lane at every intersection to slow traffic who otherwise use the double travel lanes to pass other cars. Moore said cars are traveling on average 10 miles per hour above the 20 miles-per-hour speed limit.

But each promising solution threatens another set of problems. A two-way Main

“The fastest place in town is right in front of my store. They’re flying when they go through there.”

— Marion Jones, owner, Jones Country Store

Street would mean Mill Street, the one-way going in the opposite direction, would have to become two-way again also, and it may be too narrow for that.

Turning the double travel lanes of Main Street into left turn lanes at every intersection could scare off people looking to park downtown but who don’t want to be stuck in the left turn lane while scanning for a spot on the left side. And, it may overload the right lane and make parallel parking on that side even more arduous.

“They wouldn’t be able to zip through town as fast,” said Moore, pointing out the positive, before adding the negative. “But parking on the right side is already hard — and it wouldn’t get any easier.”

Moore said it would be up to the town to come up with a solution they think is fitting, and DOT would most likely go along with it if it appeared to be a viable solution.

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Smoky Mountain News

BY ANDREW KASPER STAFF WRITER he Macon County planning board signaled its intent this month to loosen rules on development in floodplains.

Exactly how much to loosen the floodplain ordinance is yet to be worked out by the planning board and would ultimately require final approval by county commissioners.

An ordinance in Macon County prevents bringing in fill dirt to the floodplain — not even a bucket of dirt, let alone truck fulls intended to raise the elevation of low-lying sites when prepping for development. In a 72 vote, the planning board concluded the outright ban on fill dirt in floodplains is too strict, however.

The board is still discussing how to revise the ordinance.

“How we get from no fill to something everyone is happy with — we have to work through that still,” said Macon County Planning Director Matt Mason.

The issue was brought to forefront of political discussion when parishioners from a church in Macon County expressed frustration to commissioners that they could not expand their parking into a floodplain.

But once the planning board took the ordinance up for discussion, a firestorm broke out. Farmers in Macon’s fertile river valleys and environmental advocates spoke up in favor of protecting the role of floodplains — primarily to absorb floodwaters.

Yet, the planning board is pushing forward with possible changes, said Derek Roland, the Franklin town planner and the newly-elected chairman of the county Planning Board.

“We’re still moving through with reviewing the flood plain ordinance,” he said.

At the same time, Roland said the board is prepared for changes in state environmental laws that may render local floodplain ordinances null and void anyway.

Changes could also be made to the emergency evacuation protocols for mobile home parks in flood plains, and to how high buildings must be elevated above flood zones.

Many of the measures in the ordinance were put in place following massive flooding in low-lying river valleys in 2004, both to protect emergency responders tasked with rescue operations and to protect structures from damage.

As far as allowing fill in the floodplain, Mason said he could see both sides. On one hand property owners may be restricted in how they can use their property for development. On the other hand, dirt in the flood plain can be flushed downstream or constrict the water channel during floods and thus affect neighbors downstream.

“So, I can see the pros and cons,” Mason said.

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Macon board plows into floodplain rules

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Jackson leaders name planning task force

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County commissioners hand-picked the following people: • Vickie Greene appointed Myrtle Schrader, who lives in Cullowhee and is a retired Jackson County Health Department employee.

• Mark Jones appointed Scott Baker, who lives in Cullowhee and is a dean at Southwestern Community College.

• Charles Elders appointed Arnold Ashe, owner of the Cullowhee Cafe.

• Jack Debnam appointed Jeff Brotherton, a resident in Cullowhee who is retired from the military.

• Doug Cody appointed Mike Wade, owner of Rabbit Ridge Apartments in Cullowhee and resident of the apartment complex.

Community members could apply for two remaining at-large seats to be appointed by a vote of county commissioners.

Applicants include: • Rick Bennett, retiree and real estate agent in Cullowhee.

• Mike Clark, self-employed resident of Cullowhee community.

• Carl Iobst, Cullowhee resident and Great Smoky Mountains Railroad employee.

• Zara Ellis Sadler, Cullowhee resident and employee at Inter-tribal Center for Social Change.

• Susan Bogardus, resident of Cullowhee and employed at Cherokee Indian Hospital Authority.

• Mae Claxton, Cullowhee resident and WCU English professor.

“There will have to be some unique standards and attention paid to Cullowhee,” said County Planner Gerald Green.

A stack of half a dozen applicants have applied for the two at-large spots on the task force.

Mae Claxton, an English professor at WCU, was prompted to put her name after plans were publicized for yet another student housing development along Ledbetter Road next to the Tuckasegee River. She lives in a suburb off the same road and worries about the traffic problems, water quality issues and other problems an influx of more than 400 new residents may create in the rural area void of urban infrastructure.

Many of the potential problems, she believes, could be addressed through local land-use planning.

“We’re not against student housing,” Claxton said. “We just think that infrastructure, green spaces, recreation, roads, water and quality of life issues need to be considered when we get more development in the area.”

Another applicant for one of the atlarge seats, Rick Bennett, said in the end, it’s the local residents and the taxpayers who suffer when development springs up and there’s no adequate planning involved.

He added that the committee and planning district should have been formed a couple of years ago, before the recent upsurge in student housing complexes, commercial development and housing subdivisions.

“We’ve got these apartment complexes everywhere, and developers aren’t paying for any sidewalks or any of the infrastructure their high density might require,” Bennett said. “You and I as taxpayers are paying for it.”

BY ANDREW KASPER STAFF WRITER It’s not the strength of your resume — it’s who your friends are.

When it comes to selecting volunteers to serve on county boards — such as the library board, the cemetery board, the planning board and so on — Jackson County commissioners have largely stuck with who they know, despite stated intentions a few years ago, to move toward a more open application process.

And, while handpicking familiar faces may give commissioners assurances as to who they’re placing on the board, it also can work to limit the potential pool of talent and skill sets on committees.

However, in their latest round of committee forming, Jackson County commissioners inched toward a slightly more inclusive appointment process. To fill the nine-person Cullowhee planning committee, commissioners opted to leave two seats open for general members of the public.

No invitation was necessary to participate, only an application.

“Really, the purpose of the application was to give the people who were not appointed by commissioners an opportunity put their name in for consideration,” said County Manager Chuck Wooten.

It’s fairly revolutionary compared to the historic process of each commissioner naming their picks to fill up the seats on a committee.

In Haywood County, every time a seat on any of the county’s many committees or boards comes up for appointment, the county goes through an open application process with interviews — an acknowledgement that commissioners may not be privy to all the qualified volunteers in the county who may have something to offer.

“Some boards have actually gone to an interview process,” Wooten said of other counties. “But we just haven’t gotten there yet.”

Wooten hopes the test run in Cullowhee might facilitate that, with many county boards always looking to find member willing to commit the time and energy.

Commissioner Charles Elders said he’d welcome more applications and interviews for board positions. However, he pointed out that if he has someone in mind for a board, and knows them and what they stand for, it might not be completely necessary.

“The application process would probably give us a little more information if it’s someone no one really knows,” Elders said. “But if it’s someone who is a native of the area that everyone has known all their life, we wouldn’t need to do much of a background check.”

Also, those with an interest do usually make that interest known.

“I think in a lot of cases the people most interested come forward,” he said.

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Smoky Mountain News

Chuck Wooten, who was the finance officer at the university before taking the job as Jackson County manager.

Commission Chairman Jack Debnam said his choice, the retired military colonel who is also a WCU alumnus, should be a good fit.

“He was a colonel; he did a lot of military organization,” Debnam said. “He’s pretty good at knowing what it takes to get things going.”

Debnam, although he lives in the proposed district, will not serve on the board himself. As a property owner in the area, he said it was best he stayed off the board as he might be seen as having a conflict of interest.

Yet, his greatest concern is that before the process gets rolling along, he’d like to be reassured that residents within the planning district are in fact in favor of the concept. Although there have been many vocal proponents of planning in Cullowhee, a mailed survey to each property owner would be a more systematic way of measuring support.

At any moment, he said, the process could be abandoned.

“That’s my main question, is there enough support out there?” Debnam said.

“It may not be. There are some people that don’t want any rules.”

But if commissioners are satisfied there is enough support, and the planning district does start to take hold, the next difficult task for the committee will be forging the rules themselves. Although the county has two other planning districts, in Cashiers and along U.S. 441 leading to Cherokee, each place is unique and Cullowhee won’t be able to cut and paste from the other regulations.

Other appointments include: • WCU appointed Mark Lord, professor at Western Carolina University and Cullowhee resident.

• Jackson County Commissioner representative Vicki Greene.

July 31-Aug. 6, 2013

BY ANDREW KASPER STAFF WRITER ackson County Commissioners have begun naming a task force that will shepherd Cullowhee along the way to becoming a bonafide planning district, complete with tailored development guidelines to ensure compatible growth.

So far, five members of the nine-person committee have been chosen.

Commissioners will fill the remaining spots no later than August. The committee will have one handpicked appointee from each of the five county commissioners, one county commissioner to act as a liaison, two community members selected at large from a pool of applicants and a representative from Western Carolina University.

The committee will be tasked with creating a vision for the community and then helping to draft development standards.

County Commissioner Vicki Greene is excited to see the process that sat for more than a year on the commissioners’ backburner finally gain traction.

“This is obviously a concern of residents in that area for some time,” she said.

Greene, who represents the Cullowhee area as a commissioner, will serve on the committee as the commissioner delegate.

She also handpicked a longtime friend and Cullowhee resident since the 1960s to serve alongside her.

The designation of a planning district and an adoption of development standards will allow Cullowhee to control aspects of growth, like the height of signs or sidewalk requirements for new apartment complexes. Commissioners say they are carefully picking community members who either reside or work in the proposed planning district’s limits and have a vested interest in the area.

As it stands, Greene and her appointment will saddle up next to a retired military colonel, a café owner and a community college dean.

“I want to see a varied committee, and I think we have a good start on that,” Greene said.

The only appointments still waiting to be filled are the two at-large community members, which will be voted on collectively by commissioners at their meeting next week.

WCU offered its representative just last week, selecting Mark Lord, a geology professor and interim associate provost.

Although the university has opted out of being part of the planning district, it will be encompassed by it and is being saved a seat at the table.

“I felt like it was important for Western to have someone on that committee because this whole area will be in and around the campus,” said County Manager

Cullowhee’s planning task force shaping up

Handpicked appointments fill Jackson boards

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Cullowhee: meet your makers

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Volunteers glean picked-over fields to feed the hungry

BY CAITLIN BOWLING STAFF WRITER t the end of every crop’s season, farmers pick the fruits or vegetables that are pretty enough to sell in the grocery store. Once they are done, they plow under the leftover produce.

Often, it can amount to truck beds of crops being wasted. But in Haywood County, a group of volunteers is hoping to glean what they can from picked over fields and gardens to help feel the county’s hungry.

“There is no garden too small or farm too big,” said 66-year-old Waynesville resident Dick Sheets.

Sheets and his neighbor Jim Geenen, also 66, started and are heading a collective of Haywood County gleaners. With help from the Society of St. Andrews, a nonprofit that focuses specifically on gathering leftover produce and crops to feed the hungry, the group is picking up steam.

The idea of creating a stable band of Haywood County gleaners kicked off a couple months ago when Geenen met seasoned gleaner Bill Walker, the Western North Carolina gleaning coordinator with the Society of St. Andrews. Walker has worked to find volunteers in the region to gather unwanted crops for pantries, but Geenen and Sheets wanted to start a group that specifically helped people in Haywood County who visit places including The Open Door in Waynesville and the Community Kitchen in Canton.

So, they started looking for farmers and gardeners all around the county who would let them pick over their harvest and for volunteers to go out and actually do the labor. Then, Geenen and Sheets connect with food pantries to see who needs the crops they’ve gleaned.

“I think all of us wanted to give back to the community,” Sheets said. “A lot of us are retired guys who have time.”

By doing this, they hope to cut down on the amount of food wasted annually. About 40 percent of food in the U.S. is wasted, according to a USDA-funded study.

“It’s not a problem that we don’t have enough food to feed people. We have a distribution problem,” Geenen said.

The leftover food that farmers won’t use is always fresh, but sometimes, they can’t sell it

Smoky Mountain News

July 31-Aug. 6, 2013

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School supply and clothing drives abound

Keller Williams Realty of Waynesville is holding its annual children’s clothes swap next weekend. Drop off new or gently used clothing at its Waynesville office, 2562 Dellwood Road, through Friday, Aug. 9.

Then on Aug. 10 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., parents can stop by the office to pick out items for the upcoming school year. No charge and no donation requirement. School supply donations 18 are being accepted as well. More than 100

because it won’t appeal to a consumer’s eye.

Danny Barrett, owner of The Ten Acre Garden in Bethel, said the seasonal help he hires is often surprised that no one wants the bushels of crops remaining in the field.

“They can’t believe it. That nobody will eat that. Well, that’s America for you,” Barrett said.

“As far as freshness goes, that is what you should be more concerned about than eye appeal.”

Now, with the creation of the Haywood County gleaners group, Barrett’s fresh but unattractive produce will stock the shelves of county food pantries and feed the hungry.

“I had stuff that somebody needed to eat,” Barrett said.

People like Barrett who donate crops can receive a government tax break, just like if they wrote a nonprofit a check.

HELP WANTED Not knowing how many farmers will allow them to glean or how much food will be left, Geenen said they have not set any specific goals this year for how much they would like to gather.

“The sky’s the limit, but we are also trying to be realistic,” Geenen said.

However, their aim is to simply keep growing, increase the number of farmers and volunteers. Thus far, the Haywood County group has about a dozen volunteers.

However, people are still needed. Not everyone can make it at certain times or on certain days because of work or other obligations.

Geenen said they also want to get people who frequent Haywood County pantries and soup kitchen to help pick the crops that they will later enjoy.

“We want to get them involved in the ownership process, in the gleaning process,” Geenen said.

The group is looking for anyone who might help their efforts — even county inmates.

A few low-risk inmates, people in jail for nonviolent crimes such as failure to pay child support or multiple driving violations, have already gone out for a couple of corn-picking sessions under the constant supervision of a Haywood County Sheriff ’s Office employee.

Sgt. Mary Fisher said a few inmates have

spent a total of nine or 10 hours in fields gathering bushels upon bushels, which was then given to the county food pantries.

“It was a lot,” Fisher said. “Probably 70 rows.”

Typically stuck in the jail, the inmates have enjoyed that time out and found the labor rewarding, she said.

“This is the first time that they have gone out and worked with something like this,” Fisher said. “They felt like they were giving back to the community.”

Inmates at the county jail participate in other programs, including trash pickup.

However, this is the first program of its kind where the fruits of their labor benefit the hungry of Haywood County, which is why the sheriff ’s office wanted to get involved.

“I think at the end of the day, if we can somehow give back to the community and enhance quality of life for the citizens of Haywood County, we need to be involved in that,” said Jeff Haynes, chief deputy for the Haywood County Sheriff ’s Office. “We are also instilling good values that hopefully our inmates will take when they leave.”

In addition to gathering food for pantries and soup kitchens, the Haywood County gleaners will work with the N.C. Extension Office to teach people how to freeze dry and can the produce to extend its life. When food sources dry up in the winter, people can still have some of the fresh produce from summer and fall.

However, they are still looking for places to donate their kitchen spaces for people to can food in as well as the necessary equipment.

Haywood County school children benefited from last year’s event.

828.926.5155 or frontdesk@kellerwilliamswaynesville.com.

••• Waynesville Rotary Club Foundation is looking for donors to sponsor its backpack program, which it created in partnership with Manna Foodbank to provide hundreds of needy kids with food.

The program, which runs during the school year, provides each child in need with a package of food to take home every Friday to help make it through the weekend. The foundation also col-

lected enough money to give 107 children a bag of nutritious food every week this summer.

To support one child for an entire year, people can donate $128, though donations of any amount are accepted. All donations to Help Haywood’s Hungry Kids are tax-deductable, and checks can be made out to the Waynesville Rotary Foundation, P.O. Box 988, Waynesville, N.C. 28786. www.MANNAFoodbank.org or 828.299.FOOD. ••• Altrusa and Haywood Rotary members will be outside Walmart in Waynesville accepting donations of new school supplies from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 3.

Requested items include single subject notebooks, backpacks for all ages, three ring notebooks, folders with pockets, pencils, black pens, red pens, round tip scissors, highlighters, colored pencils and erasers. www.waynesvillealtrusa.org.

••• People can drop off gently used or new school appropriate clothes for ages Kindergarten through high school at Clothes To Kids of Haywood County at 177 Weldon Way in Lake Junaluska. If no one is there, just leave in bags on table under covered porch.

828.456.8990.

Waynesville resident Jim Geenen (wearing the hat) picks green beans with others at Ten Acre Garden in Bethel. Geenen helps head a group of Haywood County gleaners. Caitlin Bowling photo

Want to help?

Contact Jim Geenen at jamesgeenen@yahoo.com or Dick Sheets at 260.750.9661.

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A DOWNHILL SPIRAL Macon County Schools came face to face with a looming budget crisis earlier this year to the tune of $1.9 million.

The school board and administrators went hat in hand to the Macon County commissioners and pled for a funding increase — a bail out of sorts. At first, their $1.9 million request was met with an additional $230,000

CUTS PILING UP

from the county, a paltry increase of 3 percent over what it gave the schools last year.

But the school board and administrators convinced commissioners to do more, and Macon County offered another $200,000 at the last minute before passing the budget at the end of June. The county gave the school system $6.9 million last year and will give it about $7.3 million this year.

“I wish we could basically afford to give them more but we’re in a very tight budget year and so are they,” said Commissioner Jimmy Tate of Highlands. “The county was left with helping them pick up the tab.”

For the county, the school budget was just one more item on a long list of funding priorities.

Commissioners approved several highprofile spending projects this year, including a $550,000 pool renovation, nearly $400,000 in new medical equipment for emergency responders, and $1 million toward the purchase of land for a new baseball complex near Franklin and soccer fields in Highlands.

Commissioners also passed a slew of pay raises for county workers which will cost the county an additional $750,000 in salaries each year.

They will also have to decide soon on a quarter-million dollar project to widen the airport runway.

Commissioner Ron Haven voted against most of the county’s big ticket spending items

Few school systems in the region have gone to commissioners for such a large bailout as Macon did. But Macon County partly got into the pickle by spending up its $3 million fund balance to cover funding shortfalls in recent years instead of making incremental cuts of its own as the state and federal cuts were being dished out.

In Haywood County, the school system has been making budget cuts for several years already — since the recession-induced funding shortfalls began to manifest.

Haywood Schools has 123 fewer positions and a budget that’s more than $5 million smaller than it was five years ago.

“Had we not trimmed back the 123 positions that no longer exist, I don’t know that our county commissioners here could have totally bailed us out,” said Assistant Superintendent Dr. Bill Nolte.

But it is understandable to delay or avoid it if possible.

“I can understand why any school system would avoid that if they could. It is very real and very painful to look people in the eye you know and love and tell them they won’t have a job next year,” Nolte said.

Sadly, the teaching force is the only place the school system can go to as cuts continue to pile up.

“The cuts have been too substantial for too long to be able to move stuff around and make it all good,” Nolte said.

Macon County will lose 25 positions and as a result see larger classes. Franklin High School will start class with about one less teacher in each core subject and larger classrooms. A typical math class at the high school can be expected to jump from 22 to 24 students to closer to 30, said Baldwin.

The district also had to implement a lengthy list of cuts to items such as educational software packages, referees for sports matches, travel and training stipends, administrative supplements and more. In all, the non-personnel cuts totaled about $.5 million.

“We’re making cuts wherever we can make cuts and preserve the classroom,” said Dan Moore, director of personnel for Macon County Schools.

Macon County will see $500,000 less in state education dollars this year compared to last — so the county funding increase won’t cover the new losses, let alone make up for the shortfall it already had.

The Macon County School Board unanimously passed a resolution last week decrying state cuts to areas like teachers assistants, increases in funding for the private school voucher program, lagging pay for teachers, and changes to their tenure programs.

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Smoky Mountain News

they got.”

However, the thought of saving the job of co-workers doesn’t make the possibility of another year of less-thanhoped-for compensation any easier to swallow. John deVille, a high school teacher in Franklin, said this year has been particularly bad for teachers and the loss of the supplement just adds to that.

The state has moved to do away with extra pay for teachers with advanced degrees and eliminate the tenure-type program for veteran educators. DeVille added that he has only received a pay raise, of 2 percent, once in the last five years. Losing the 2 percent supplement amounts to a pay decrease.

“It’s a pay cut,” deVille said.

However, the alternative is less desirable.

“If there is a choice between me getting a 1 and 2 percent supplement versus extra teachers or teachers assistants, you would find 99 percent of teachers support funding the extra positions,” deVille said.

“That’s somebody’s livelihood.”

Most school districts offer a salary supplement — ranging between a couple percentage points to more than 10 percent of the state’s base salary. Only a handful of districts in the state don’t offer any additional pay, said Mark Jewell, vice president of the N.C. Association of Educators. Swain County is one that doesn’t offer a supplement.

As state salaries for teachers have come to rank amongst the lowest in the country — $30,800 for a first-year teacher — local governments are left picking up the slack. But it can be especially hard for poorer districts to make up the difference and offer teachers a competitive wage.

Not doing so can send the wrong message, Jewell said.

“This is what we value for our local school teachers,” he said. “Teachers are having a hard enough time as it is making ends meet.”

July 31-Aug. 6, 2013

BY ANDREW KASPER STAFF WRITER o deal with a gaping budget shortfall, Macon County Schools might raid the local salary bonus it historically awards its teachers.

While the state pays the base salary for teachers, local school districts often sweeten the pot by augmenting the state-paid salaries with a supplement. Macon teachers get a 2 percent supplement given out in a lump sum at Christmas. But with the school struggling to meet ends meet this year, the more than $400,000 fund for supplements is looking pretty tempting.

“To be honest the teachers that I’ve spoken with really appreciate that 2 percent supplement,” said Superintendant Chris Baldwin. “But at the same time, if it means keeping a teacher in a classroom, they say ‘take our supplement.’”

The school system will definitely have fewer teachers in light of a $1 million plus budget shortfall, but dipping into supplements for salaries could save more positions.

This spring, Macon County commissioners gave the school board the green light to shuffle around its locally-appropriated budget, taking money from some areas and shifting it to others. Teacher supplements is one of those areas, and possibly the biggest chunk of change the school district can tap into.

But even after giving the nod of approval to use the teachers supplements for operating costs, if need be, Macon County Chairman Kevin Corbin hopes it doesn’t come to that.

“I really hope they don’t mess with the teacher bonuses,” Corbin said. “I think they need to leave that in place — that’s part of the teacher compensation package.”

But Baldwin has said that his priorities this year are keeping classrooms staffed with teachers and trying to grow the school’s fund balance again. After being at more than $3 million several years ago, the school district has spent its cash reserves down to nothing to offset reductions in state and federal funding.

The county will get $500,000 less in state funding this year compared to last year, and that has caught the district by surprise.

“This definitely puts that 2 percent supplement in jeopardy,” Baldwin said. “It’s going to be especially difficult for the school system to withstand that.”

The matter is still up in the air. It may come down to the simple question of which is better, more teachers making less or less teachers making more?

The conundrum pits the teachers’ dedication to education against their own self interest.

“A lot of the teachers would like to see us have more teachers,” said Board of Education vice chairman Tommy Cabe, whose wife is a teacher. “They’re going to teach no matter how much money they got or how many kids

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Macon Schools may cut teacher bonuses to save positions

over the past year. He also voted against the final budget, which included the increases in education funding. However, he said he would have rather put all the money spent on things like across-the-board county employee raises and vacant land on education instead.

“We got to live by our means,” Haven said. “But if we started snipping the things that weren’t important that we’re spending money on, the things that are important wouldn’t be a problem.”

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Opinion

Smoky Mountain News

Being in the right place at the right time

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GOP-led legislature has wrong priorities

To the Editor: The Republicans in Raleigh have approved their “tax reform” and budget, and we will suffer for both.

According to Senate Minority Whip Josh Stein, the GOP “tax reform” cuts $500 million in revenue while their budget cuts $500 million from public education over the next several years. Sixty-five percent of the tax cuts go to the wealthiest 1 percent, while 90 percent of the cuts go to the wealthiest 5 percent. In other words, the Republican priorities are to take a half billion dollars away from public education and give it to the wealthiest and to out-of-state corporations.

If we don’t have a well-educated populace, businesses aren’t going to be all that interested in moving here. The Republicans are destroying public education by allowing private schools to take money and some of the best students away from public schools, leaving less money to teach students who need the most resources.

You cannot expect one adult alone to teach 20-something 5- to 7-year-old children. The Republicans’ $110 million reduction in teacher assistants is unconscionable. As for teacher salaries, we have been taking pay cuts through inflation. In addition, North Carolina has lost 5,000 teachers, and the GOP budget has locked in the money so we can’t hire more even though the population is rising.

As for our own Republican Sen. Jim Davis from Franklin, he wants to keep the salary increase for teachers with advanced degrees. He

one from Jason Sandford (Ashvegas blog creator and Asheville Citizen-Times writer) to a Southern Living magazine editor who lives here.

As I looked around, I couldn’t resist comparing those attending to what one might find in any place besides Western North Carolina. Despite the fact that we were at the historic and iconic Grove Park, there were few coats and ties. It occurred to me that someone in pinstripes and nice suit would have looked more out of place than someone with bib overalls and a foot-long beard.

And there was a vibrancy to the crowd. These mountains attract enerEditor getic, engaging people, whether it’s an Asheville musician, a Cullowhee farmer or a young journalist. Lots of positive energy.

A few nights earlier, I was volunteering for Folkmoot USA in Waynesville, the international dance festival that comes to Western North Carolina every year during the last part of July. I’ve been involved in Folkmoot for more than a decade and always look forward to getting my annual dose of the interactions between dancers, musicians, locals and visitors.

One night after I finished helping to clean the kitchen— it was about 1 a.m. — the Canadians asked a couple of us to come to the “poolside terrace.” For those who don’t know, the Folkmoot Center

Scott McLeod

ver know you are in a good place at the right time? Every now and then that sentiment — about living Western North Carolina right now — overwhelms me.

I’ve been messing around with newspapers and journalism in some form or another since I was 13. It’s a vocation that puts one in contact with all kinds of people and takes one to all kinds of places. So I’m mostly beyond those “gee whiz” moments that are often part of the job.

But they still happen. Sometimes they are directly related to my job, other times they are more personal. Often, though, they occur in part due to this great place we get to call home.

The media was invited to the grand opening of a new restaurant, The Edison, at Grove Park Inn. I went Monday night with a couple of co-workers, Smoky Mountain Living Editor Sarah Kuckarski and Advertising Director Hylah Smalley. The restaurant hopes to attract locals from this area instead of just people staying at the inn, and the menu will use mostly local foods and serve lots of regional beers. It’s a great concept.

But what fascinated me was the crowd that showed up. The restaurant will feature the work of WNC artists, and so several were on hand. Restaurant owners and chefs were there, as were some of the growers who will provide food to the kitchen. Oscar Wong, owner of Highlands Brewing and the acknowledged godfather of the burgeoning Western North Carolina craft brewing industry, spoke briefly about the passion of people in this region have for all things local. And the media was also out in force, every-

said, “They started in good faith. It’s unfair to change the rules in midstream.” Bravo. How about applying that same logic to so-called teacher tenure? He voted to get rid of that, so that in the future teachers can be fired for no given reason. Soon teachers can be let go not just because of poor performance (they always could), but maybe they don’t like a teacher’s views or politics, skin color, religious choice, any or no reason. That’s un-American.

Republicans are raising the copay on Medicaid to the maximum allowable under federal law; they are restricting women’s reproductive choices; they are taking away local governments’ control and giving it to themselves; and they are even taking away Asheville’s entire water system and aquifer and not giving them a dime for it. The Republicans’ idea of freedom sounds more like a police state.

Things have gotten so desperate that I, as a father, a husband, a homeowner, a taxpayer and responsible American chose to protest this injustice with the only moral and legal option left: peaceful civil disobedience in Raleigh. If we don’t stand up, who will?

The Republicans are proud of “scaling back state government” (cutting public services), but they are doing it on the backs of our children, our poor, our middle class, and our future.

Urge our politicians to allocate some of the $250 million “Rainy Day Fund” to keep our teacher assistants and to reinstate teachers’ civil rights for job security fairness.

Join us at Mountain Moral Monday in Asheville Pack Square at 5 p.m. this Monday on Aug. 5.

Dan Kowal Franklin

is a nearly 100-year-old school, and there definitely is no pool. The Canadians, though, had acquired a kiddy pool and put it right outside the steps leading out of the old school’s auditorium, dubbing the spot their “poolside terrace.”

My daughter was a guide for the Canadian group, as was Jonathan Conner. The guides live with the group during the entire festival, helping them get to performances throughout the region on time, a job that also requires a commitment from a slew of bus drivers. Gary Justice was driving for the group.

The Canadians wanted to give a little token of thanks to the three of them, hence the invitation to me. But the magic happened after the presentation. A guitar and fiddle came out, and one of the Canadian girls, Fiona, started singing. As the impromptu ensemble provided background music, the Canadian group leaders started singing the praises of the Folkmoot festival and Western North Carolina. They spoke about the hospitality of the people they had met, and how they wanted to come back and visit Western North Carolina when they had more time and weren’t so busy performing.

It occurred to me that this group had tapped into the same energy I had felt at the Asheville event, a vibe that is unique to WNC. There are other places in America that have spun off entire cultural identities — Austin, Seattle, Santa Fe — but right now, there’s no place other than Western North Carolina I’d rather be.

(Scott McLeod can be reached at info@smokymountainnews.com.)

Jake brakes are a needed safety measure To the Editor: I absolutely object to the conclusions in your article about Jake brakes in last week’s edition of The Smoky Mountain News (www.smokymountainnews.com/news/item/ 11190).

Jake brakes are an absolute necessity for trucks. It prevents the regular brakes from “fading,” which is the overheating of the brakes. This renders them useless and leaves the truck with no working brakes at all. It is absolutely not a matter of maintenance costs.

But I agree on one thing — trucks need to be equipped with a working exhaust system.

That will keep the noise down and also will make the Jake brake more efficient.

Any truck manufacturer or truck owner can tell you this. Jake brakes are a safety measure.

Wait for the first casualty, heaven forbid it will be a fatality. Without Jake breaks, a truck going downhill is like an out of control roller coaster.

Gino Deneef Franklin

Runway widening will harm rural valley To the Editor: An article in a local paper on July 5 states that the Macon County Airport Authority met that week to get an update on the widening of runways to allow for use by larger aircraft. The

LOOKING FOR OPINIONS The Smoky Mountain News encourages readers to express their opinions through letters to the editor or guest columns. All viewpoints are welcome. Send to Scott McLeod at info@smokymountainnews.com., fax to 828.452.3585, or mail to PO Box 629, Waynesville, NC, 28786. news that the widening is on the way is shocking as the people who will again be most impacted, those living in Iotla Valley, had no information whatever that it was even being planned. With the county having property records and all the information means available, it is obvious that neighbors were not informed because the power brokers know they can move ahead with their schemes without the bother of hearing from people who might object and whose voices will not be listened to anyway.

The Authority chairman takes pride that representatives from Harrah’s Casino had flown in the previous week and were happy they could fly into Franklin instead of Asheville. The comparison is ludicrous, as the Franklin airport cannot ever reach the traffic the Asheville airport has because Asheville is much more centrally located, its airport already has large carrier flights, and its location on a flat plain is conducive to further growth which Franklin’s airport — being hemmed in by mountains — precludes.

It is also mentioned that people staying at Old Edwards Inn were pleased flying into

tasteTHEmountains Taste the Mountains is an ever-evolving paid section of places to dine in Western North Carolina. If you would like to be included in the listing please contact our advertising department at 828.452.4251 AMMONS DRIVE-IN RESTAURANT & DAIRY BAR 1451 Dellwwod Rd., Waynesville.

828.926.0734. Open 7 days a week 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Celebrating over 25 years.

Enjoy world famous hot dogs as well as burgers, seafood, hushpuppies, hot wings and chicken. Be sure to save room for dessert.

The cobbler, pie and cake selections are sure to satisfy any sweet tooth.

ANTHONY WAYNE’S 37 Church St, Waynesville. 828.456.6789.

Open for lunch Monday-Friday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; open for dinner Thursday-Saturday 5 to 9 p.m.; and Sunday brunch 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Exceptional, new-American cuisine, offering several gluten free items.

BLUE RIDGE BBQ COMPANY 180 N. Main St., Waynesville.

828.452.7524. 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. TuesdayThursday; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday-Saturday; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Blue Ridge BBQ is a family owned and operated restaurant.

The BBQ is slow hardwood smoked, marinat-

Olga F. Pader Iotla

BLUE ROOSTER SOUTHERN GRILL 207 Paragon Parkway, Clyde, Lakeside Plaza at the old Wal-Mart. 828.456.1997.

Monday-Friday 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.; Sunday 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Friendly and fun family atmosphere. Local, handmade Southern cuisine. Fresh-cut salads; slowsimmered soups; flame grilled burgers and steaks, and homemade signature desserts.

Blue-plates and local fresh vegetables daily.

Brown bagging is permitted. Private parties, catering, and take-out available. Call-ahead seating available.

BOGART’S 35 East Main St., Sylva. 828.586.6532.

Sunday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Serving classic American food and drink in a casual environment. Daily lunch and dinner specials. Children’s menu available.

Call for catering quotes. Private room available for large parties. Accepts MC/Visa, Discover and American Express.

BOURBON BARREL BEEF & ALE 454 Hazelwood Ave., Waynesville, 828.452.9191. Now open for lunch 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Dinner nightly from 4 p.m.

Closed on Sunday. We specialize in hand-cut, all natural steaks, fresh fish, and other classic American comfort foods that are made using only the finest local and sustainable ingredients available. We also feature a great selection of craft beers from local artisan brewers, and of course an extensive selection of small batch bourbons and whiskey. The Barrel is a friendly and casual neighborhood dining experience where our guests enjoy a great meal without breaking the bank.

HERREN HOUSE 94 East St., Waynesville 828.452.7837.

Lunch: Wednesday - Saturday 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday Brunch 11 a. m. to 2 p.m.

Enjoy fresh local products, created daily. Join us in our beautiful patio garden. We are your local neighborhood host for special events: business party’s, luncheons, weddings, showers and more. Private parties & catering are available 7 days a week by reservation only.

BRYSON CITY BAKERY AND PASTRY SHOPPE 191 Everett St., Bryson City. 828.488.5390 Offering a full line of fresh baked goods like Grandma used to make. Large variety to choose from including cakes, pies, donuts, breads, cinn-buns and much more. Also serving Hershey Ice Cream. Open seven days a week, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.

CATALOOCHEE RANCH 119 Ranch Dr., Maggie Valley.

828.926.1401. Family-style breakfast seven days a week, from 8 to 9:30 am – with eggs, bacon, sausage, grits and oatmeal, fresh fruit, sometimes French toast or pan-

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ARTISAN BREADS & PASTRIES

WE HAVE FRAPPES! STRAWBERRIES & CREAM GRASSHOPPER CHAI FREEZE GREEN TEA MATCHA

TAKE-OUT • EAT-IN • CATERING

Scratch-Made Fresh Daily Breads • Biscuits • Bagels Cakes • Pies • Pastries Soups • Salads • Sandwiches

Try our New Panini & Sandwich Lunch Menu!

Smoky Mountain News

BREAKFAST • LUNCH

Classic local American comfort foods, craft beers & small batch bourbons & whiskey.

Fair Trade Coffee & Espresso

We prepare our menu with the freshest, locally-sourced ingredients we can find. We serve regionally-raised antibioticand hormone-free beef, lamb, chicken and pork.

Many of our seasonal vegetables come from local farms and our fresh fish are harvested from sustainable fisheries.

18 North Main Street Waynesville • 452.3881

Lunch: 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. • Dinner Nightly at 4 p.m. • CLOSED ON SUNDAY

www.citybakery.net

454 HAZELWOOD AVENUE • WAYNESVILLE

MON-FRI: 7 a.m.-5 p.m.

SAT: 8 a.m.-5 p.m. SUN: 8 a.m.-2 p.m.

ASHEVILLE: 60 Biltmore Ave. 252.4426 & 88 Charlotte St. 254.4289

July 31-Aug. 6, 2013

State GOP leaders are bought and paid for To the Editor: In a recent letter to the Editor, Sen. Thom Goolsby, R-Wilmington, changed his name for the weekly protests against Republican decisions in Raleigh from “Moron Mondays” to “Money Mondays.”

Ah-ha, the truth is out! He has to connect money to the movement because he and his Republican cronies cannot, for the life of them, connect the movement with morality.

There is not a moral bone in their bodies.

Talk about money. This legislature was, with the help of the Citizens United case, bought and paid for by corporate money.

There is another movement afoot to amend the Constitution to declare that corporations are not persons. Sixteen states have signed resolutions to amend. It takes 38 states to take it to Congress. It will take some time but it will be done. Petitions are online at MoveToAmend.org.

Make no mistake about it, Republicans are terrified of these grassroots movements that are growing and coming to a city near you soon. A Moral Monday gathering will be held in Asheville at 5 p.m. on Aug. 5. Be there if you care. Organize, agitate and spread the truth.

Joan Palmroos Otto

ed in its own juices, and seasoned with mountain recipes. All menu items made from scratch daily. Featuring homemade cornbread salad, fresh collard greens, or cornbread and milk at your request. Old-fashioned homemade banana pudding and fruit cobbler of the season. Catering, take-out, eat-in. blueridgebbq@gmail.com.

opinion

Franklin. The widening will allow larger jets to fly in and more flights to come in daily. So gamblers for the casino and some wealthy folks will reap the benefits while the neighbors bear the brunt of more pollution, more noise, more traffic on our curvy roads, and the eventual irreplaceable loss of our beautiful valley.

Much is made of the economic windfall the airport presently brings to our county with the untested promise being that more airport growth will result, of course, in more jobs, more business opportunities, and economic ripples to benefit all Maconians. I would like to know how many local people were and will be hired by W. K. Dickson, the engineering firm that did the runway extension and now will do the expansion. With all the rosy predictions, are the jobs going to be created by turning N.C. 28 into another fast-food lane and by widening and straightening Airport and Iotla Church roads and all other access roads into our community? It is frighteningly sad that this may be the nightmarish vision that airport and county officials have for Iotla Valley.

Living in a democracy should mean that people, especially common citizens, have a say on their destinies. How can we influence what happens to our lives when decisions are made without notice by a powerful few? Trying to be heard by government these days is a futile and demeaning pursuit as those of us who protested against the runway extension painfully know. That is why citizens don’t attend meetings, that is why we are called apathetic, that is why we are silent now.

Last question: is the widening going to take the runways closer to Iotla Valley School?

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THUR, AUG 1 • 6:30PM BEER TASTING WITH FROG LEVEL BREWING

cakes, and always all-you-can-eat. Lunch every day from 11:30 till 2. Evening cookouts on the terrace on weekends and Wednesdays (weather permitting), featuring steaks, ribs, chicken, and pork chops, to name a few. Bountiful family-style dinners on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, with entrees that include prime rib, baked ham and herb-baked chicken, complemented by seasonal vegetables, homemade breads, jellies and desserts. We also offer a fine selection of wine and beer. The evening social hour starts at 6pm, and dinner is served starting at 7pm. So join us for mile-high mountaintop dining with a spectacular view.

Please call for reservations.

FRIDAY, AUG 2 • 7PM

KAREN "SUGAR" BARNES AND DAVE MAGILL

S PRING S TREET, D OWNTOWN S YLVA CREPES, PANINIS, SOUPS, SALADS, GOURMET PASTAS WINE & BEER

CityLightsCafe.com 199-01

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ALL

DAY, EVERY DAY

Burgers to Salads Southern Favorites & Classics

Mater Fest Specials Live music Sat. by “Honey-licious”

117 Main Street, Canton NC 828.492.0618 • SidsOnMain.com Serving Lunch & Dinner

MON.-THURS. 11 A .M. TO 9 P.M. • FRI. & SAT. 11 A .M. TO 10 P.M. SUNDAY BRUNCH 11 A .M. TO 2:30 P.M. 199-64

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Mad Batter Bakery & Café

ON THE WCU CAMPUS • 293.3096

July 31-Aug. 6, 2013

• Hors d'oeuvre Hour Nightly • 4-Course Dinner Nightly • Wednesday Gourmet Picnic Lunch • Thursday Night Cookout • Sunday Brunch • Backpack Lunches for Hiking Award-winning country inn at 5,000 feet Reservations required

2300 SWAG ROAD WAYNESVILLE

828.926.0430 • TheSwag.com

Bring your own wine and spirits.

LOCATED OFF JONATHAN CREEK RD/HWY 276 & HEMPHILL RD

Smoky Mountain News

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AUGUST LIVE MUSIC: 8/1 8/2 8/3 8/4 8/8 8/9 8/10

Dylan Riddle Live Music TBA Live Music TBA Chuck Spencer Ricky Paul River Rats Moonshine Jam

8/11 8/15 8/16 8/17 8/18 8/22

Croon & Cadence Jeff Sipe Trio Live Music TBA Strung Like a Horse Sparkly Nipples Chuck Spencer & Dylan Riddle

8/23 8/24 8/25 8/30 8/31

LOCAL Rory Kelly Brett Wilson Circus Mutt Point of View

CITY BAKERY 18 N. Main St. Waynesville 828.452.3881.

Monday-Friday 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Join us in our historic location for scratch made soups and daily specials.

Breakfast is made to order daily: Gourmet cheddar & scallion biscuits served with bacon, sausage and eggs; smoked trout bagel plate; quiche and fresh fruit parfait.

We bake a wide variety of breads daily, specializing in traditional french breads. All of our breads are hand shaped. Lunch: Fresh salads, panini sandwiches. Enjoy outdoor dinning on the deck. Private room available for meetings.

CITY LIGHTS CAFE Spring Street in downtown Sylva.

828.587.2233. Open Monday-Saturday 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sunday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tasty, healthy and quick. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, espresso, beer and wine.

Come taste the savory and sweet crepes, grilled paninis, fresh, organic salads, soups and more. Outside patio seating. Free Wi-Fi, pet-friendly. Live music and lots of events.

Check the web calendar at citylightscafe.com.

CORK AND BEAN 16 Everett St., Bryson City. 828.488.1934.

Open Monday-Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Enjoy organic, fair-trade, gourmet espresso and coffees, a select, eclectic list of wines, and locally prepared treats to go with every thing. Come by early and enjoy a breakfast crepe with a latte, grab a grilled chicken pesto crepe for lunch, or wind down with a nice glass of red wine. Visit us on Facebook!

CORK & CLEAVER 176 Country Club Drive, Waynesville.

828.456.7179. Reservations recommended. 4:30-9 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Tucked away inside Waynesville Inn, Cork & Cleaver has an approachable menu designed around locally sourced, sustainable, farm-to-table ingredients. Executive Chef Corey Green prepares innovative and unique Southern fare from local, organic vegetables grown in Western North Carolina. Full bar and wine cellar. www.waynesvilleinn.com.

THE DECK 4-8 P.M. MUSIC 9 P.M.-2 A.M. | SUNDAY MUSIC ON

DIRECTIONS:

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CHEF’S TABLE 30 Church St., Waynesville.

828.452.6210. From 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Tuesday through Saturday dinner starting at 5 p.m. “Best of” Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator Magazine. Set in a distinguished atmosphere with an exceptional menu. Extensive selection of wine and beer.

Reservations honored.

CORNERSTONE CAFÉ 1092 N. Main Street, Waynesville.

828.452.4252. Open Monday through Friday 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Fresh meats purchased daily, great homemade breakfast, burgers made to order. Comfortable and friendly atmosphere, with curb service available. Make lunch easy and call ahead for to go orders.

COUNTRY VITTLES: FAMILY STYLE RESTAURANT 3589 Soco Rd, Maggie Valley.

828.926.1820 Open Daily 7 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., closed Tuesday. Family Style at Country Vittles is not a buffet. Instead our waitresses will bring your food piping hot from the kitchen right to your table and as many refills as you want. So if you have a big appetite, but sure to ask your waitress about our family style service.

FRANKIE’S ITALIAN TRATTORIA 1037 Soco Rd. Maggie Valley.

828.926.6216 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Tuesday-Saturday. Father and son team Frank and Louis Perrone cook up dinners steeped in Italian tradition. With recipies passed down from generations gone by, the Perrones have brought a bit of Italy to Maggie Valley. frankiestrattoria.com FRYDAY’S & SUNDAES 24 & 26 Fry St., Bryson City (Next To The Train Depot). 828.488.5379. Fridays is open 6 days a week and closed Wednesdays.

Sundaes is open 7 days a week. Fryday’s is known for its Traditional English Beer Battered Fish & Chips, but also has burgers, deep fried dogs, gyro, shrimp, bangers, Chip Butty, chicken, sandwiches & a great kids menu. Price friendly, $3-$10, Everything available to go or call ahead takeout. Sundaes has 24 rotating flavors of Hershey's Ice Cream making them into floats, splits, sundaes, shakes. Private seating inside & out for both locations right across from the train station & pet friendly.

FROGS LEAP PUBLIC HOUSE 44 Church St. Downtown Waynesville 828.456.1930 Serving lunch and dinner from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, Sunday lunch and dinner from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., closed Mondays. Frogs Leap is a farm to table restaurant focused on local, sustainable, natural and organic products prepared in modern regional dishes. Seasonal menu focuses on Southern comfort foods with upscale flavors. Come for the restaurant’s 4 @ 4 when you can choose a center and three sides at special prices. Offered WedFri. from 4 to 6. frogsleappublichouse.org.

GUADALUPE CAFÉ 606 W. Main Street, Sylva. 828.586.9877.

Open 7 days a week at 5 p.m. Located in the historic Hooper’s Drugstore, Guadalupe Café is a chef-owned and operated restaurant serving Caribbean inspired fare complimented by a quirky selection of wines and microbrews. Supporting local farmers of organic produce, livestock, hand-crafted cheese, and using sustainably harvested seafood.

J. ARTHUR’S RESTAURANT AT MAGGIE VALLEY U.S. 19 in Maggie Valley. 828.926.1817.

Lunch Sunday noon to 2:30 p.m., dinner nightly starting at 4:30 p.m. World-famous prime rib, steaks, fresh seafood, gorgonzola cheese and salads. All ABC permits and

tasteTHEmountains open year-round. Children always welcome.

Take-out menu. Excellent service and hospitality. Reservations appreciated.

JUKEBOX JUNCTION U.S. 276 and N.C. 110 intersection, Bethel.

828.648.4193. 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Serving breakfast, lunch, nd dinner. The restaurant has a 1950s & 60s theme decorated with memorabilia from that era.

LOS AMIGOS 366 Russ Ave. in the Bi-Lo Plaza.

828.456.7870. Open from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for lunch and 5 to 10 p.m. for dinner Monday through Friday and 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Enjoy the lunch prices Monday through Sunday, also enjoy our outdoor patio.

MAD BATTER BAKERY & CAFÉ Located on the WCU Campus in Cullowhee.

828.293.3096. Open Monday-Thursday 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Earth-friendly foods at people-friendly prices.

Daily specials, wraps, salads, pastries, breads, soups and more. Unique fare, friendly service, casual atmosphere and wireless Internet. Organic ingredients, local produce, gourmet fair trade and organic coffees.

MAGGIE VALLEY CLUB 1819 Country Club Dr., Maggie Valley.

828.926.1616. maggievalleyclub.com/dine.

Open daily for lunch and dinner. Fine and casual fireside dining in welcoming atmosphere. Full bar. Reservations accepted.

MOONSHINE GRILL 2550 Soco Road, Maggie Valley loacted in the Smoky Falls Lodge. 828.926.7440. Open Wednesday through Saturday, 4:30 to 9 p.m.

Cooking up mouth-watering, wood-fired Angus steaks, prime rib and scrumptious fresh seafood dishes. The wood-fired grill gives amazing flavor to every meal that comes off of it. Enjoy creative dishes made using moonshine. Stop by and simmer for a while and soak up the atmosphere. The best kept secret in Maggie Valley. themoonshinegrill.com

NEWFOUND LODGE RESTAURANT 1303 Tsali Blvd, Cherokee (Located on 441 North at entrance to GSMNP).

828.497.4590. Open 7 a.m. daily.

Established in 1946 and serving breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week. Family style dining for adults and children.

OLD STONE INN 109 Dolan Road, off Love Lane.

828.456.3333. Classic fireside dining in an historic mountain lodge with cozy, intimate bar. Dinner served nightly except Sunday from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Signature dinner choices include our 8oz. filet of beef in a brandied peppercorn sauce and a garlic and herb crusted lamb rack. Carefully selected fine wines and beers plus full bar available. Open year round. Call for reservations.

PASQUALE’S 1863 South Main Street, Waynesville. Off exit 98, 828.454.5002. Open for lunch and dinner seven days a week. Classic Italian dishes, exceptional steaks and seafood (available in full and lighter sizes), thin crust pizza, homemade soups, salads hand tossed at your table. Fine wine and beer selection. Casual atmosphere, dine indoor, outside on the patio or at the bar. Reservations appreciated.

PASQUALINO’S ITALIAN RESTAURANT 25 Everett Street, Bryson City.

828.488.9555. Open for lunch and dinner everyday 11:30 a.m.-late. A taste of Italy in beautiful Bryson City. Exceptional pasta, pizza, homemade soups, salads. Fine wine, mixed drinks and beer selection. Casual atmosphere, reservations appreciated.

PATIO BISTRO 30 Church Street, Waynesville.

828.454.0070. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Breakfast bagels and sandwiches, gourmet coffee, deli sandwiches for lunch with homemade soups, quiches, and desserts. Wide selection of wine and beer.

Outdoor and indoor dining.

ITALIAN

FRIDAY AUGUST 2

Smoke Rise SATURDAY AUGUST 3RD

Mile High Band 83 Asheville Hwy. Sylva Music Starts @ 9 • 631.0554

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SPEEDY’S PIZZA 285 Main Street, Sylva. 828.586.3800.

Open seven days a week. Monday-Friday 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Saturday 3 p.m.-11 p.m., Sunday 4 p.m.-10 p.m. Family-owned for 30 years. Serving hand-tossed pizza made to order, pasta, subs, gourmet salads, calzones and seafood. Also serving excellent prime rib on Thursdays. Dine in or take out available.

Located across from the Fire Station.

TAP ROOM SPORTS BAR & GRILL 176 Country Club Dr. Waynesville 828.456.5988. 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week. Enjoy soups, sandwiches, salads and hearty appetizers along with a full bar menu in our casual, smoke-free neighborhood grill.

THE WINE BAR 20 Church Street, downtown Waynesville.

828.452.6000. Underground cellar for wine and beer, served by the glass all day. Cheese and tapas served Wednesday through Saturday 4 p.m.-9 p.m. or later. info@classicwineseller.com. Also on facebook and twitter.

VITO’S PIZZA 607 Highlands Rd., Franklin.

828.369.9890. Established here in in 1998. Come to Franklin and enjoy our laid back place, a place you can sit back, relax and enjoy our 62” HDTV. Our Pizza dough, sauce, meatballs, and sausage are all made from scratch by Vito. The recipes have been in the family for 50 years (don't ask for the recipes cuz’ you won't get it!) Each Pizza is hand tossed and made with TLC. You're welcome to watch your pizza being created.

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Sunday Brunch Every Sunday from 11a.m.-2 p.m.

Reservations Appreciated VIEW OUR COMPLETE MENU ONLINE AT

www.oldstoneinn.com/dining 109 Dolan Rd. (off Love Lane) • Waynesville (828) 456-3333 • Dinner: Mon-Sat 5:30-8 199-68

Fryday’s 6 Days/Week Closed Wed.

Sundaes 7 Days/Week

Traditional English Fish & Chips, Burgers, Dogs, Gyro, Shrimp & Loads More.

24 PLUS FLAVORS OF HERSHEY’S ICE CREAM

EVERYTHING AVAILABLE TO GO

24 & 26 Fry St. • Bryson City 488-5379 • NEXT TO THE DEPOT

www.FrydaysAndSundaes.com

CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED • JOIN US ON FACEBOOK

A T N A N TA H A L A V I L L A G E

SEAFOOD STEAKS COCKTAILS

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INDOOR & OUTDOOR SEATING

MEDITERRANEAN

STEAKS • PIZZA CHICKEN • SEAFOOD SANDWICHES

ND

SOUL INFUSION TEA HOUSE & BISTRO 628 E. Main St. (between Sylva Tire & UPS).

828.586.1717. Tuesday-Friday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday noon -until. Scrumptious, natural, fresh soups, salads, sandwiches, wraps and desserts. 60+ teas served hot or cold, black, chai, herbal. Seasonal and rotating draft beers, good selection of wine.

Home-Grown Music Network Venue with live music most weekends. Pet friendly and kid ready.

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ANNOUNCING

OPEN FOR LUNCH & DINNER 7 DAYS A WEEK

JOIN US FOR SUMMER ON THE PATIO 1863 S. MAIN ST. WAYNESVILLE 828.454.5002 HWY. 19/23 EXIT 98

THURSDAY • 8/1

Adam Bigelow & Friends

EVERY TUESDAY

9400 HWY. 19 WEST 828-488-9000

7 miles west of Bryson City at the entry to the Nantahala Gorge.

Drink & Think hosted by Kurt Collins

RESERVATIONS SUGGESTED

628 E. Main Street • Sylva

TUES– THURS 5:30-9 • FRI– SUN 5:30- 10

828.586.1717 • soulinfusion.com

Smoky Mountain News

UPCOMING EVENTS

RENDEZVOUS RESTAURANT AND BAR Maggie Valley Inn and Conference Center 828.926.0201 Bar open Monday thru Saturday; dining room open Tuesday thru Saturday at 5 p.m. Full service restaurant serving steaks, prime rib, seafood and dinner specials. Live music Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

July 31-Aug. 6, 2013

MILL & MAIN 462 W. Main St., Sylva. 828.586.6799.

Serving lunch and dinner. 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m.

Tuesday-Saturday. Noon to 4 p.m. Sunday.

Pizza, pasta, outstanding homemade desserts, plus full lunch and dinner menus.

All ABC permits. Take-out menus available.

MOUNTAIN PERKS ESPRESSO BAR & CAFÉ 9 Depot St., Bryson City. 828.488.9561.

Open Monday through Thursday, 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Friday 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. With music at the Depot. Sunday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Life is too short for bad coffee. We feature wonderful breakfast and lunch selections. Bagels, wraps, soups, sandwiches, salads and quiche with a variety of specialty coffees, teas and smoothies. Various desserts.

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A&E

Smoky Mountain News

24

In search of ‘White Lightnin’

A Southern Appalachian still.

National Park Service photo

Moonshine in Southern Appalachia

I

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD STAFF WRITER

t was the only thing he knew how to do. It was the only thing he wanted to do.

Marvin “Popcorn” Sutton was a moonshiner, through and through.

Meandering the thick woods surrounding Maggie Valley, and points beyond in Southern Appalachia, Sutton gained a reputation throughout the Southeast as the maker of the finest ‘shine ever created. For decades, he kept making liquor even after being caught on a handful of occasions.

After his last arrest, he was sentenced to 18 months in a federal prison. With mounting health problems and personal convictions about the law, he found himself at a dead end. Rather than report to jail, he committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning in 2009 at age 62.

“He didn’t care about anything but making moonshine, and he didn’t feel like he was doing anything wrong,” said his widow, Pam Sutton.

Though already a legendary and controversial figure during his lifetime, Popcorn’s death immortalized his role as the outlaw moonshiner. The iconic image of a bootlegger has been part of American culture since the country’s inception and with that image came centuries of confrontation, vilification and condemnation.

It’s an Appalachian tradition as deep and rich as the Great Smoky Mountains themselves — one still finding its footing in a modern world where few things survive the onslaught of time.

HEADIN’ SOUTH The practice of distilling and making spirits in Southern Appalachia dates back hundreds of years. With an influx of ScotsIrish settlers into the area during the 17th and 18th centuries, their ancient methods and techniques of making liquor came with them.

Whisky production was not only an economic vehicle for society but also one that influenced politics and culture.

Once in America, these early pioneers molded their distilling ways to fit the new crop they discovered — corn, which was a plentiful ingredient grown by Native Americans and quickly adopted by newcomers.

“Making liquor was a natural way of life for these settlers,” said Dan Pierce, chairman of the history department at UNC-Asheville and author the newly published book on moonshining, Corn From A Jar. “These early Appalachian people had long traditions of making liquor, and they adapted it to the new grains of the land, particularly corn.”

DARK SIDE OF THE MOONSHINE During the 18th and 19th century, several attempts by the U.S. government to tax liquor spurred protest and, in certain situations, violence. According to Pierce, Congress brought about a $2 tax on liquor, an enormous jump from the 20 cents taxed in previous years. Distillers immediately became outlaws, with federal revenuers looking to collect.

“From the start, moonshiners have always had this ‘outlaw’ image,” Pierce said. “Society’s fascination with the moonshiners is part nostalgia, part outlaw, where that person pushes the boundaries, all in an effort to make a living. Once something like that gains momentum, it just takes off.”

In 1876, moonshiner Lewis Redmond found himself in a shootout with a federal marshall. Redmond killed the official and was dubbed “King of the Moonshiners.” After the incident, Redmond relocated to Bryson City, where he continued his distilling empire in Western North Carolina. Sylva writer Gary Carden wrote a play, “The Prince of Dark Corners,” about Redmond, which was also made into a PBS special.

With the popularity of moonshine came stereotypes. Those in other parts of the country often viewed the entire South as a band of outlaws. Though an important aspect of the history of Southern Appalachia, many feel it isn’t the whole story.

“Moonshining is a part of the cultural history here, but not the entire history,” said author, historian and folklorist George Ellison, of Bryson City. “These characteristics of the moonshiner put us in a cubby hole. It’s not a bad thing, but it’s not accurate of the entire population and culture.”

Into the mid-20th century, the illegal moonshiners developed new tactics to get their product to clients. Faster, more savvy automobiles graced the twisted backroads of the mountains.

Bootleggers customized their vehicles with faster engines in seemingly slow vehicles, stronger axles and leaf springs to not make a heavy load of moonshine obvious when driving down the road.

The 1958 crime-drama thriller “Thunder Road” saw Hollywood introduce their take on the “life of a moonshiner” to the world.

Starring Robert Mitchum, the film became a cult classic that perpetuated the outlaw image of moonshiners. “‘Thunder Road’ definitely fired up a national hype by overly romanticizing moonshining,” Ellison said. “And a lot of people related to it, because almost everyone has a story about trying moonshine.”

Consequently, many of those actual bootleg drivers became pioneers in another Southern tradition — stock car racing. Taking their talents of evading the law, these moonshine drivers, most notably Junior Johnson, were part of the newly formed National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, or NASCAR, which today is America’s biggest spectator sport.

“Moonshine really was integral to the inception of NASCAR,” Pierce said. “Everyone was involved in moonshine, from drivers to track owners to promoters. They were looking for the next thing, and they found it with racing.”

THE MAN BEHIND THE ‘SHINE

DISTILLING TRADITION

black market materials, the number of stills confiscated is nearly nonexistent in Western North Carolina.

“I’ve been here over eight years and have yet to see one still,” said Swain County Sheriff Curtis Cochran.

But Bradford assures there is no shortage of bootleggers still operating in Southern Appalachia. He estimates hundreds of ‘shiners are cooking up their trademarks brews to this day, high up in the deep forests, far away from Main Street America.

“There are more moonshiners out there

For every batch of moonshine he makes, Cody Bradford is distilling his lineage. The tradition of making ‘shine has been in his family for more than 150 years. The recipe remains the same, and it’s as strong and real as each generation of crafters.

“It’s in my blood; it’s the whole reason I wanted to do this, to keep the tradition alive,” he said. “By learning about moonshine, you’re learning the history behind the hardworking people of these mountains. I want people to know what’s good moonshine and what’s not.”

In 2010, Bradford opened the Howling Moon Distillery in Asheville. Putting out hundreds of gallons of moonshine, Bradford The 4th Annual Popcorn Sutton Summer Jam will be can’t keep up with demand, even from 4 to 11 p.m. Friday, Aug. 2, and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. with the product only being sold in Saturday, Aug. 3, at the Maggie Valley Festival Grounds.

Western North Carolina.

Celebrating the life of the legendary moonshiner, the “Making liquor is the hardest event features live music, educational exhibits, food and job I’ve ever had,” he said. “And craft vendors, and appearances from stars of the reality doing it legally, I can pass along the show “Moonshiners,” among other activities. tradition without the fear anymore Music schedule for Friday is the Big Mouth Bass of getting caught.”

Band (4 p.m.), The Bootleg Turn Band (5:15 p.m.), In a twist of fate, his wife’s greatMichelle Leigh Band (6:30 p.m.), Andy Buckner Band great uncle was the federal marshal (8:30 p.m.), and The Jake Cox Band (9:30 p.m.). shot by “King of the Moonshiners” Saturday will include The Hillbilly Outlaw Band (11:30 Lewis Redmond in 1876. a.m.), Morgan Stepp (12:45 p.m.), The Kaitlyn Baker “Moonshine isn’t about a bunch Band (2 p.m.), Ginny McAfee (3:45 p.m.), Hillbilly Bonez of hillbillies getting drunk,” he said.

Band (4:30 p.m.), My Highway (6:15 p.m.), Michelle “It’s about people whose only surLeigh Band (8 p.m.), and Ail Randolph & the Outta Luck vival was brewing ‘shine. For me, Band (9:30 p.m.). brewing it is a thrill, and it’s part of Pre-sale tickets are $5, with day-of-show tickets who I am.” priced at $6. $1 from each ticket sold will go to Sarge’s In recent years, the image of the Animal Rescue Foundation in Popcorn’s name. bootlegger has increased through www.popcornsuttonjam.eventbrite.com. popular reality shows like “Moonshiners” and “Hillbilly Blood.” But still, how has the public fascina- today than I can count,” he said. “They’re tion with moonshiners remained so strong smarter these days; they don’t talk about it at through the generations? all, and they’ve survived.”

“People like outlaws, whether it’s Al And the proof of their existence is in the Capone, Jesse James or Billy the Kid,” ‘shine. Just last month, sheriff deputies in Bradford said. “And moonshiners are the last Mitchell County (north of Asheville) seized real outlaws still out there.” more than 150 gallons of illegal moonshine in a raid on a production facility following a tip. not a common occurrence anymore, LOWING INTO MODERNITY but“It’s we still come across them once in a Moonshine arrests and convictions have while,” said Josh Sparks, chief deputy for drastically dropped in recent decades. With S EE ‘S HINE, PAGE 26 25 illegal trades shifting more to hard drugs and

Festival honors moonshine, Popcorn Sutton

Smoky Mountain News

Pam Sutton was working at a café in Parrottsville, Tenn., when a skinny, bearded man walked in. Adorned with a rolled cigarette hanging from his lips, trademark bib overalls, long sleeve plaid and floppy hat with a raccoon penis bone through the top, he looked at her and soon walked back out.

“I knew who he was; I knew it was Popcorn,” she said. “He came down again the next day for some business with somebody, and he gave them a card to give me. It said, ‘Call me.’”

From there, a romance blossomed. At the time, Popcorn resided in Parrottsville. He made every effort to win over Pam’s heart. It was a notion many aware of his legend may have been surprised by.

“Personally, he was a very caring, loving man,” Pam said. “He was totally different with me than in public — he treated me like a queen. He was a very romantic guy, and you wouldn’t think that by looking at him.”

The couple was married for two years before Popcorn committed suicide to avoid

spending what arguably would have been the rest of his life in prison, given his poor health at the time. In his final years, he was setting the foundation to make his longtime illegal practice legal by starting his own licensed business.

But, he’d never see the fruits of his labors.

In his honor, Pam has taken the reins and created “Popcorn Sutton’s Tennessee White Whiskey.” The company brings together Pam, J&M Concepts LLC and outlaw country musician Hank Williams Jr., who was a fan of Popcorn’s moonshine and wanted to continue the tradition.

“Moonshine keeps our culture here in Southern Appalachia alive; it’s our history.

It’s how people made a living in these mountains, and it keeps Popcorn’s memory alive,” Pam said.

In its fourth year, the Popcorn Sutton Summer Jam, a.k.a. “Hillbilly Woodstock,” is held at the Maggie Valley Festival Grounds.

The event is Aug. 2-3. Starting as a grassroots get-together of a couple hundred people, the festival has grown to more than 4,000 attendees, according to promoters.

Courtesy of Pam Sutton

July 31-Aug. 6, 2013

During America’s infancy, distillers were able to practice their trade legally, making liquors to not only consume but for trade, medicine and seemingly everything in between. All walks of life from farmers to the President of United States purchased, consumed and enjoyed spirits.

It was an honorable and sacred profession, one that was left alone for decades during the nation’s development. But, that all changed with the Whiskey Rebellion of 1791. According to the Library of Congress, in an effort to increase the power of the government and pay off state debts from the Revolutionary War, U.S. Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton introduced a new tax on people who made and used whiskey as a means of exchange. The tax sparked a protest, one that was “against taxation without local representation.”

The feuding hit a head in 1794 with protesters attacking the home of a tax inspector who was serving writs to people who hadn’t adhered to paying the tax. President George Washington sent peace commissioners, with thousands of militia later being deployed to quell the rebellion.

The suppression showcased a change in the new nation where resistance could be thwarted by the government. The tax was eventually repealed when President Thomas Jefferson came to office in 1801.

Following the Civil War, another tax on spirits was enacted by the federal government to once again pay for the cost of battle. Already physically and economically devastated by the war, the

Pam Sutton and Marvin “Popcorn” Sutton on their wedding day. arts & entertainment

‘Shining a light on history

Confederate States of America felt they couldn’t take another financial blow by allowing the tax in the years during Reconstruction.

“Making moonshine was the primary way people paid their taxes. It was a dependable thing for a cash crop when a lot of these agricultural families of the South couldn’t rely on their farms every year,” said Dan Pierce, UNCAsheville history professor and author of Corn From A Jar. Dan Pierce “Making and transDonated photo porting liquor was cheaper and more profitable than growing corn. But, by the 1870s, the government started cracking down on the production.”

If a distiller did pay tax on their product, they were legally allowed to keep brewing. But, for small-time farmers and producers, the tax ate up too much of their profit to justify making the liquor.

“Liquor was a poor farmer’s hedge,” Pierce said. “When agriculture in this area went down in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, these distillers relied more and more on making moonshine to get by.”

Though a temperance movement to ban alcohol has early roots in this country, it gained significant momentum at the turn of the 20th century. By 1918, Congress passed the 18th Amendment to the Constitution – an action that prohibited the manufacture, transport and sale of alcohol. “Prohibition” was finally repealed in 1933, after years of heightened crime, violence and protest due to the controversial laws.

F

arts & entertainment

‘S HINE, CONTINUED FROM 25 Mitchell County. “More than anything, we have our sights on the increasing drug problem. It was a good bust, though.”

Sparks said moonshine arrests and convictions are nowhere near the numbers 30 or 40 years ago. He feels moonshiners are keeping their clients closer these days and not expanding as far, where those who do expand tend to be the ones getting ahead of themselves and caught. But, that doesn’t mean public interested has decreased.

“We’ve had more calls about what we were going to do with that seized moonshine than on anything else,” Sparks chuckled. “It all gets poured out and destroyed, but people wanted to know if we ‘would donate a jar here and there to them.’”

MAKING A STAND

July 31-Aug. 6, 2013

Moonshine has remained a line in the sand that places American citizens on one side of the law or the other. The rebellion behind the making and selling of the liquor has pushed through the ages with a “Whack-A-Mole” mentality, where for every moonshiner caught, several more pop up.

Co-owner of Twisted Hillbilly Magazine, a key sponsor of the Jam, Jeff Whitaker looks towards Popcorn as a hero to the individual.

“You look at Popcorn like you look at Hank Williams III or Willie Nelson, who were people with their finger in the air, just rebels, and Popcorn was the ultimate rebel,” he said. “Popcorn held his finger in

the air ‘til the very end.”

Whitaker noted that Popcorn felt he had already paid his taxes by purchasing the materials and ingredients he used to make his moonshine. For both men, making ‘shine is a form of protest that is an essential right of being an American.

“People can embrace this kind of rebellion; it’s a quiet and harmless rebellion that crosses a broad spectrum,” Whitaker said.

“I love the fierce independence of this region. In Southern Appalachia, we want to do our thing and be left alone. You’re either Jeff Whitaker a decent person or not, Donated photo and that’s the way we measure things in these parts — it’s always been that way.”

And as moonshining rolls into the 21st century, it seems there’s no stopping a storied and proud tradition in Southern Appalachia.

Though production numbers may have dwindled, on paper, one can find a jar of white lightning with the slightest of ease. It’s about trust and confidence in doing so, which are key traits of this wild landscape.

“Popcorn was great at marketing himself, and when you’re doing something illegal, and in the public eye, you tend to be in the crosshairs of the law,” Pierce said. “They say Popcorn was ‘The Last One,’ but he wasn’t the end of the line; he was the beginning of a Renaissance for moonshining.”

Your Performance On Stage Flourish, Engage, Inspire Speaker Susan Belcher August 8th at 11:30 am The Gateway Club

Smoky Mountain News

Chamber Members - $25 Non-Members - $35

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199-61

This must be the place

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD I wanted to be close to the source.

When I was 20 years old, I decided to become a writer. Standing in the mud at Bonnaroo 2005, I realized all I wanted to do what talk to strangers and write about them.

It’s a fascination that will never subside, a thirst that will never be quenched.

And during the past several years, I’ve been able to combine my two biggest passions, writing and music. Yes, I’ve watched the film “Almost Famous” (like a million times) – I truly wanted to be part of that environment.

Something about going behind the curtain, Peter Rowan at the Lake Eden Arts Festival in seeing all the chaos and hard-knock reality of Black Mountain, Spring 2013. Garret K. Woodward photo the music industry has this “Wizard of Oz” appeal to me.

As a self-proclaimed history nerd, I wasn’t interested in featuring the latest trend band or newest festival to spring up in some random cornfield. I wanted to track Southern rock legends The Black Crowes down those forgotten melodic faces perform at Harrah’s Cherokee on Aug. 2. and milestone musicians, people that though they may be out of the public spotlight, are still pushing The Sarge’s Animal Rescue Foundation Dog further into their lifelong exploWalk will be in downtown Waynesville on ration of sound and performance.

Aug. 3.

During my first feature assignment in 2006, I found myself sitMountain music/rock band Soldier’s Heart ting within what appeared to be an plays the Groovin’ on the Green concert series old boiler room. In the depths of in Cashiers on Aug. 2. the Iron Horse Music Hall in Northampton, Mass., I interviewed A solo exhibition for painter Kel Tanner opens iconic singer/songwriter Peter Aug. 7 at Gallery 86 in Waynesville.

Rowan, who came to prominence in the early 1960s as the lead singer for legendary bluegrass musician Whitewater Bluegrass Company hits the Bill Monroe and his “Bluegrass Concert on the Creek concert series on Aug. 2 Boys.” From there, he fronted the in Sylva. short-lived, yet critically acclaimed ensemble Old and in the Way (feaJimmy Cobb at the Village Vanguard in New turing Jerry Garcia, David Grisman and Vassar York City about playing and recording with Clements) and has since solidified his place in Miles Davis; Jim Yester of folk/rock group The the American musical landscape.

Association about what it was like to open the We talked at length about his career, where it began with Monroe, and where it has Monterey Pop Festival; bassist Pete Sears on gone during the last half century. He then told his first impression of Jimi Hendrix when he walked into Sears’ London apartment before me a story about one morning when the tour anyone knew who the guitarist even was. bus broke down in Northern Kentucky, and All of these experiences have not only Monroe took him aside. broadened my knowledge of music history, “It was about 5:30 in the morning, and it but I also hope, in some way, that these voicwas just one of the magic moments with the es get properly preserved, and not lost sun coming over the mountains in the east.

That’s when Bill sang me the first four lines of through the cracks of time.

Amid those innumerable voices is Western the song ‘Walls of Time,’” Rowan said. “I North Carolina’s own Raymond Fairchild. The thought, ‘Man, this is the moment.’ He knew 74-year-old renowned banjoist and moonshiner he was giving me a great experience because I performs seven nights a week during the sumwas all about being with the father of bluemer at his Maggie Valley Opry House. Fairchild grass – close to the source. When he wanted and myself have interviewed a handful of times to lay it on me, he knew he had somebody during the last year. His finger pickin’ is still as who was really going to listen to him.” fierce as lightning, and I highly recommend any Something about that statement struck a and all to witness him live. He’s as close to the deep chord within my soul. He was right, the source as you can get when it comes to only way to honestly learn about something is Southern Appalachian culture. It’s a voice that to find it and immerse oneself accordingly. won’t be around forever, and one we’re lucky That sentiment set the course for my pursuits. I’ve found myself interviewing drummer enough to have in our own backyard.

HOT PICKS 1 2 3 4 5

On the beat arts & entertainment

The Black Crowes come to Harrah’s

Legendary southern rock group, The Black Crowes, performs at 9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 2, at Harrah’s Cherokee.

Selling over 35 million albums, the band is known as one of rock’s best live acts and has been called “The Most Rock n’ Roll Rock ‘n’ Roll Band in the World.” Their panoramic live shows feature alternating set lists and signature incendiary musical explorations. In 2010, they were inducted into the Georgia Music Hall Of Fame at the 32nd Annual Georgia Music Hall of Fame Awards Show. Also in 2010, they commemorated the 20th anniversary of their landmark multi-platinum debut, 1990’s “Shake Your Money Maker.” Their newest release, “Wiser For the Time” (Silver Arrow/Megaforce Records), is a four-sided vinyl collection and double album from the band’s five-night, sold-out New York City performances in 2010.

Tickets are $25, $35 and $45. The show is ages 21 and over.

800.745.3000 or www.harrahscherokee.com.

Pop Ferguson brings the blues to Stecoah Arts Center

• Playing on the Planet and Jackleg will play Big Wesser BBQ + Brew at the Nantahala Outdoor Center in the Nantahala Gorge.

Cosmic rockin’ boogie-grass group Playing on the Planet will perform on Aug. 2. Jackleg will be on Aug. 3. Both performances are from 8 to 11 p.m. Free. www.noc.com.

• The High Mountain Squares will host a dance from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 2, at the Macon County Community Building in Franklin. Jim Cosman will be the caller. The dance will include Western Style square, mainstream and plus levels. Free.

828.371.4946 or 828.342.1560 or 828.332.0001 or www.highmountainsquare.org,

Acoustic folk, pop classics at Classic Wineseller Singer/songwriter James Hammel and keyboardist Joe Cruz will perform at The Classic Wineseller in Waynesville.

Hammel will perform at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 2, and Cruz at 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 3. Hammel has a long history of performing, surpassed only by his 20 years at the top of the business world. Hammel blends his own, often autobiographical originals, with fresh arrangements of standards and twists on adult pop tunes.

Cruz sings the best of The Beatles, Elton John, and other

• Singer/songwriter Angela-Faye Martin performs from 8 to 11 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 3, at Nantahala Brewing Company in Bryson City.

Free. www.nantahalabrewing.com or 828.488.2337.

pop favorites. He grew up in a musical family in New York City, playing and singing in church from a young age. He became a regular on the New York club scene and has opened for Chicago, Bonnie Raitt, Santana, and Average James White Band. Cruz resides Hammel in Haywood County with his wife, Tracey, and their daughters.

The Classic Wineseller’s kitchen is open Friday and Saturday evenings serving small plate fare beginning at 5:30 p.m.

There is a $10 per person minimum including food, drink or retail purchases.

828.452.6000 or info@classicwineseller.com or www.classicwineseller.com.

• A back porch old-time music jam will be from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 3, at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Open to the public, with musicians encouraged to bring their instruments and play. Free. www.nps.gov/grsm.

• A Celtic Jam, Sea Notes and The MIXX tap into Frog Level Brewing Company in Waynesville.

The Celtic Jam performs Aug. 1, old country group Sea Notes on Aug. 2, and r/b funk ensemble The MIXX on Aug. 3. Free.

828.454.5664 or www.froglevelbrewing.com.

• The Mountain High Dulcimer Group will perform as part of the Friday Night Live concert series from 6 to 8 p.m. Aug. 2, at the Highlands Town Square. Free. www.highlandschamber.org or 828.524.5841.

• Whitewater Bluegrass Company will play the Concerts on the Creek concert series at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 2, at Bridge Park in Sylva. The popular group serves up its own brand of bluegrass and mountain string music. The series is sponsored by the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce, the Town of Sylva and Jackson County Parks and Recreation. Free. 800.962.1911 or www.mountainlovers.com.

• The Music in the Mountains concert series continues with The Josh Fields Band at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 3, at the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad Depot in Bryson City. The group plays everything from southern rock to contemporary country. The free concert series brings together local residents, visitors and musicians for an evening of melodies and mountains. The series is sponsored by the Swain County Chamber of Commerce and

ALSO:

the Swain County Tourism Development Authority. www.greatsmokies.com.

• The Parker String Quartet will perform Aug. 2-5 as part of the Highlands-Cashiers Chamber Music Festival. Friday (6 p.m.) and Sunday (5 p.m.) concerts are the Highlands Performing Arts Center, while Saturday and Monday shows (both at 5 p.m.) are at the Albert Carlton Library in Cashiers. Tickets are $30 for adults, $15 for students under age 18.

828.526.9060 or www.h-cmusicfestival.org.

• Bluegrass/string band Super Nitrograss plays the Saturdays on Pine concert series at 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 3, at the Pine Street Park in Highlands. Free. www.highlandschamber.org.

Smoky Mountain News

• Mountain music/rock band Soldier’s Heart plays the Groovin’ on the Green concert series at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 2, at the Village Commons in Cashiers. The series is sponsored by the Greater Cashiers Area Merchants Association. Free. www.cashiersvalley.com.

American History and Culture.

Tickets are $15 for adults, $5 for students grades K-12.

828.479.3364 or www.stecoahvalleycenter.com or www.reverbnation.com/cjblues.

July 31-Aug. 6, 2013

The Pop Ferguson Pop Ferguson Blues Review will perform at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Aug. 3, at the Stecoah Valley Cultural Arts Center in Robbinsville.

A welcomed and different sound to the Grand Old Stage, 84-year-old Clyde “Pop” Ferguson is one of the last practitioners of traditional blues in the North Carolina foothills.

Recordings of Ferguson’s music along with many of his stories have been selected to be in the National Museum of African-

The Black Crowes play Cherokee on Aug. 2. Donated photo

• Bluegrass musician Curtis Blackwell comes to Pickin’ on the Square at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 3, at the lower level town hall in Franklin.

At 6:30 p.m. the stage is open for anyone wanting to play a few songs. Free. 828.524.2516 or www.franklinnc.com/pickin.html.

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arts & entertainment

On the wall

Maggie Valley Festival Grounds Presents…

August 10, 2013 Doors open at 6pm Opening Act: The Buchanan Boys Special Guests: Ole Smoky Moonshine Girls Matt Stillwell 9pm $10 Tickets at Lucky Jakes & the door

“Rolling Mare, Rising Sun” by Kel Tanner, whose work will be exhibited Aug. 7 to Sept. 2 in Waynesville. Donated

Last Day for

$8 DISCOUNTED online tickets @ mattstillwell.eventbrite.com

July 31-Aug. 6, 2013

All Ages!

VIP signing after the show at Lucky Jakes, 2723 Soco Rd, Maggie Valley, NC 28751

Learn more & download FREE MP3s @ mattstillwell.net

Smoky Mountain News

Sponsors: Lucky Jakes, Ole Smoky Moonshine, 99.9 KISS Country

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Tanner exhibition at Gallery 86 Painter Kel Tanner will have a solo exhibition from Aug. 7 to Sept. 2 at Haywood County Arts Council’s Gallery 86 in Waynesville. An artist reception will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 9, at the gallery.

Since 2008, Tanner has entered five competitions and won Best in

Dining out for The Bascom “Dining for The Bascom” will be from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 7, at the Lakeside Restaurant in Highlands.

Diners will help The Bascom visual arts center by having 15 percent of the gross sales from their meals donated to the nonprofit organization. “Evenings at Lakeside” will continue until Oct. 1. 828.526.9419.

The Bascom is open year-round, Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday noon to 5 p.m. www.TheBascom.org or 828.526.4949.

Illustrator to hold

828-926-0866 demos in Bryson City www.maggievalleyfestivalgrounds.org for more details

The Art League of the Smokies will meet at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 6, at the Swain County Center for the Arts in Bryson City. Featured artist will be Bente Starcke King, whose DVD, “Beautiful Botanicals—Painting and Drawing Flowers and Plants” will be shown. The film shows techniques and principles involved in botanical painting with demonstrations done from fresh flowers and plants. Born in Denmark, King received her degree in art and illustration in Copenhagen before relocating to

Show or First Place in four. She paints mostly in oil from live subjects and her own photographs. She has also established a jewelry brand, Only1.

This project was supported by the N.C. Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources. www.haywoodarts.org.

Chair seat weaving workshop

The Ronald McDonald House provides a “home-away-from-home” for families at little or no cost, so they can stay close by their hospitalized child who is seriously ill or injured.

Students will sell tickets at the next two flea markets at the Haywood County Fairgrounds on Saturday, Aug. 3 and Saturday, Sept. 7.

Tickets are $1 each or six for $5. At noon on Sept. 7, a drawing will be held to select the winner of the quilt. Tickets may also be purchased by calling 828.734.3848 or 828.565.4245.

A chair seat weaving class offered by Dogwood Crafters will be from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 6-7, at KJ’s Needle in a Haystack Cross Stitch Shop in Dillsboro.

Junetta Pell will be the instructor for this class. Pell has taught chair seat weaving for more than 40 years.

Participants may bring their own furniture or purchase a stool from the instructor. Cost for the class includes materials purchased for the chair seat plus a $5 class fee.

828.586.2435 or junettapell@hotmail.com.

• A photography class for senior citizens will be held from 1 to 2 p.m. on Thursdays in August at the Jackson County Senior Center in Sylva. Optional lab sessions will be from 2 to 3 p.m. Dates are Aug. 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29.

Class is free for senior participants and $10 for all classes for non-participants.

828.586.4944 or 828.226.3840.

the United States. For the past 15 years, she has held the position of staff botanical illustrator at the L.H Bailey Hortorium.

The event is sponsored by Swain County Center for the Arts and Swain County Schools.

828.488.7843 or www.swain.k12.nc.us/cfta.

Quilters raffle to benefit Ronald McDonald House

ALSO:

• Francine Menor – Hand Painted Folk Art Game Boards and Growth Charts exhibition is now on display through Oct. 10 at the Canton Public Library. The exhibit is a collecHaywood Community College quilting stution of checkers, tic-tac-toe game boards dents are raffling off a one-of-a-kind quilt, with and growth charts hand painted by Menor. proceeds going to the Ronald McDonald House.

828.633.0202 or www.twigdiva.com.

On the streets

The 8th annual Sarge’s Animal Rescue Foundation Downtown Waynesville Dog Walk will be at 10 a.m.

Saturday, Aug. 3. Sign up begins at 9 a.m. in front of the Haywood County Courthouse.

Last year’s walk raised $20,000 for Sarge’s. The funds are vital to Sarge’s mission to rescue homeless dogs and cats in Haywood County. The fundraiser helps to offset the costs of medical supplies, boarding, transport and food for the hundreds of animals the organization finds homes for each year.

Sarge’s Animal Rescue Foundation Downtown Waynesville Dog After the walk, dogs Walk will be Aug. 3. Donated photo and their owners compete in tail wagging competitions, participate in the owner/dog lookalike contest, show off in the best dressed competition or exhibit their skills in the best trick contest.

Pre-registration will be from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Aug. 1-2, at the Sarge’s office. Walkers must complete a registration form, which can be found on the Sarge’s website or at the Sarge’s office.

Registration is $15 per dog, and event T-shirts are $15 each or free with registration. Each walker receives a dog bandanna and goody bag.

828.246.9050 or www.sargeandfriends.org.

Colorfest! Art & Taste of Appalachia is looking for regional artists of all mediums to participate in the Fifth annual fine art festival to be held on Oct. 5 in Dillsboro.

The selected artists’ artwork will be displayed in a shop in Dillsboro from Sept. 5 until the culminating art festival on Oct. 5, and featured on www.colorfestartblog.com. During the art festival, which will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the artists will be able to talk about how they create their art, which will be for sale. www.spiritofappalachia.org or 828.631.4587.

Art After Dark continues from 6 to 9 p.m.

Friday, Aug. 2, in downtown Waynesville’s studios and galleries on Main Street and Depot Street. Art After Dark flags denote participating galleries.

Sherrye Perry, of Gypsy Bee Brand natural soap company, will showcase her honey infused products from 6 to 9 p.m. at Twigs and Leaves. Metal sculptor Grace Cathey will present and sign her book Fire & Steel: The Sculpture of Grace Cathey from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Aug. 2 and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Aug. 3, at her Sculpture Garden and Gallery on 136 Depot St. The Haywood County Arts Council will also host “ARTSHARE,� an art sale featuring estate art that has been donated to the Council. Art After Dark is presented by the Waynesville Gallery Association.

Want to learn cribbage?

A “Grass Roots� cribbage club comes together at 6:30 p.m. every Tuesday at the Maggie Valley Inn. The American Cribbage Congress (ACC) is a national organization comprised of more than 350 local clubs (eight of them in North Carolina) and over 6,000 members in the United States and Canada. Established in 1980, it now sponsors 150 tournaments a year with the largest drawing nearly 1,000 players. The local clubs play once a week and report the scores to the ACC, which tabulates them and keeps statistics.

The club is open to everyone.

410.440.7652 or kei3ph@bellsouth.net or 828.926.3978 or www.cribbage.org or www.accgrassroots.org.

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828-586-HAUS (4287)

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THE ORIGINAL

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WAYNESVILLE

TAILGATE MARKET

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IN HAYWOOD COUNTY SINCE 1985

Celebrating our second-generation growers • A “Little Black Dress Nightâ€? will be held every first Friday of the month at Papou’s Wine Shop in Sylva. The next event will be Aug. 2, with wine glass specials and socializing.

828.586.6300 or papouswineshop@frontier.com.

ALSO:

• The Laughter Yoga Club will be at 1 p.m.

Wednesday, Aug. 7, at Jackson County Senior Center. The club will then meet monthly on the third Wednesday of each month, starting Aug. 21. Free. 828.586.4944.

THE KIDS’ CORNER MARKET SAT., AUGUST 3 • 10 A.M.-NOON

Join us this week to celebrate “Watermelon Day at the Market�

Smoky Mountain News

Art After Dark returns to Waynesville

No Need to go to a Big Box Store.

We Have Lower Prices, Higher Quality And Experienced Staff.

July 31-Aug. 6, 2013

Open call for artists for Colorfest!

arts & entertainment

Downtown Waynesville goes to the dogs

FOR QUESTIONS ABOUT THE KIDS CORNER MARKET, PLEASE CONTACT VICKY ROGERS AT 456-1830 OR VROGERS12@ATT.NET.

MARKET SCHEDULE:

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Wednesdays and Saturdays May-Oct. 30 • 8 a.m.-Noon American Legion Parking Lot • 171 Legion Dr. (behind Bogarts)

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July 31-Aug. 6, 2013

arts & entertainment

On the stage Renowned illusionist family brings spectacle to Franklin Spencers Theatre of Illusion will take the stage at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Aug. 3, at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin.

Kevin and Cindy Spencer present a hightech stage show that combines drama, comedy, romance and suspense with special effects. Their unique illusions have earned them the Performing Arts Entertainers of the Year for six consecutive years.

They have also been named America’s Best Entertainers multiple times and were recently Spencers Theatre of Illusion comes named International to Franklin on Aug. 3. Donated photo Magicians of the Year, an award previously presented to Penn & Teller, David Copperfield, and Criss Angel.

Tickets start at $15 per person. www.greatmountainmusic.com or 866.273.4615.

Dharma teachings offered in Cullowhee on Aug. 3 Dharma teacher Trish Thompson, ordained by Thich Nhat Hanh and a certified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction instructor, will offer a workshop from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Saturday, Aug. 3, at St. David’s Episcopal church in Cullowhee.

The workshop will explore various mindfulness practices for health and happiness, in oneself, the community and the world.

Sponsored by St. David’s Episcopal Church, the event is open to all. Fee is $15 or whatever you can afford, and includes a vegetarian meal. stdavids1879@gmail.com.

Brockwell to speak at Lake Junaluska museum dinner The annual Friends of the Museum Dinner will be at 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 9, in the Lambuth Inn at Lake Junaluska.

The program will feature Charles Brockwell, a Kentucky Conference minister and theologian. An open house at the World Methodist Council Museum will be held from 4 to 5:30 p.m. before the dinner. Brockwell, who is the son-inlaw of Wright Spears, will speak on the topic, “Getting It Straight about Aldersgate.” This year marks the 275th anniversary of Wesley’s Aldersgate experience.

The cost is $18 per person, which includes tax and tip, and may be paid for by check, cash, or credit card.

Attendees may also renew their membership in the Friends at this time with a $25 minimum donation.

828.456.9432 or 828.452.5034.

The “Evolution of the Hula-hoop” will be presented at 7 p.m.

Thursday, Aug. 8, at the Macon County Library in Franklin.

Kelly Jewell Timco will bring an assortment of hoops, and can teach beginners how to hoop. She will also teach arm and hand hooping. Timco will have her handmade hoops available for sale.

Free.

828.488.3030.

• The Fashion Show and Scholarship Luncheon will be at noon Monday, Aug. 5, at the Lambuth Inn at Lake Junaluska. The event is open to members and non-members.

Tickets are $25, which benefits summer workers at Lake Junaluska who are awarded $1,000 college scholarships from the Lake Junaluska Woman’s Club.

ALSO:

• The Spirit of the Smokies storytelling event will be from 7 to 8 p.m. every Saturday through Aug. 10, between C-Loop and D-Loop at the Smokemont Campground in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Bring a blanket, chair and listen to tales of the Smokies. Free. www.nps.gov/grsm.

• “What are the essential elements of a good life?” will be the topic for the Franklin Open Forum at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 7, at the Rathskeller Coffee Haus and Pub in Franklin.

FOF is a moderated discussion group, meeting on the first Wednesday of the month. Those interested in an open exchange of ideas (dialog not debate) are invited to attend.

828.349.0598.

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Smoky Mountain News

Hula-hoop history in Franklin

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Books Novel covers death, love, and all points in between P Smoky Mountain News

Jeff Minick

riscille Sibley’s The Promise of Stardust (ISBN 978-0-06-219417-6, 399 pages, $15.99) is a fine first novel by a woman who works as a neonatal intensive care nurse.

This fact regarding Sibley is important, as she brings her knowledge of medicine and her experience in life-threatening situations to the pages of her book.

The Promise of Stardust opens with a tragic accident. Matt Beaulieu, a neurosurgeon, learns that his wife Elle, an astrophysicist and an astronaut, has fallen from a ladder while helping her brother Writer wash windows at his house. Having struck her head on a rock during the fall, Elle arrives at the hospital in a condition which practically guarantees her death. If she does manage to survive, she will likely never regain consciousness. Matt considers disallowing surgery, but at the insistence of another doctor, a friend, he allows the operation to go forward. When Elle returns from the operation, she is in a terminal condition, kept alive by a breathing apparatus.

She is also pregnant.

And that’s the twist to Sibley’s story. As she proceeds to tell us more about Elle and Matt, and about their own parents and siblings, the dilemma between allowing Elle to die or keeping her alive to bear the child becomes apparent. Elle’s own mother suffered a horrid, lingering, and painful death from cancer, and Elle has made it reasonably clear that she doesn’t want to be kept alive without hope of recovery.

On the other hand, Elle has suffered both miscarriages and a still-birth, and has expressed to her husband and to her private

father Hank, and Matt’s attorney, his roommate in college who now is a leading lawyer of constitutional law. Opposing them are Linney, Matt’s mother and Elle’s surrogate mom, Elle’s brother Christopher, and Elle’s former lover and fiancé, Adam.

In her description of this fight — the legal wrangling, the personal sniping and full-scale battles between these two groups, particularly between Matt and his mother, who is a neonatal nurse, and the more public antagonism between forces supporting Elle’s right to die and those who want the baby carried, if possible to term — Sibley excels in thrusting us into the middle of the moral dilemma faced by both sides. Her expertise in medicine and nursing serve her well as she shows us both the benefits and some of the awful consequences of modern medical practice — the ability to prolong life in such situations as well as the dreadful cost, especially psychological, to those who must deal with the consequences of their decisions regarding a loved one hooked up to tubes and machines.

Anyone who has ever been forced to decide whether to let a person in such circumstances die, to have that responsibility, will surely relive that decision when reading The Promise of Stardust.

The Promise of Stardust by Priscille Sibley. William Sibley also gives us a fine portrait of the struggles faced by Matt. As a neuroMorrow Paperbacks, 2013. 399 pages. surgeon, he knows that the accident has killed his wife, though her body continjournals a desperate desire for children. ues to breathe and function artificially; as a These two premises set the battleground husband, he believes that Elle, who was pretty of the novel — Elle’s terrible fear against clear about not wanting to be kept alive in being kept artificially alive placed against her such circumstances, would nonetheless want desperate wish for a child of her own. On one to bring the baby to term. As we follow the side of that battlefield stands Matt, Elle’s legal and medical twists of The Promise of

Haywood book sale continues The Friends of the Library annual Book Sale goes into week two with a “Half Price Sale” from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday Aug. 2, at the Haywood Public Library in Waynesville.

All books left from the previous week’s sale will be included.

From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 3, the usual $5 bag sale will be held. Bring your own bags and boxes if possible.

828.627.2370.

‘Shiloh and Other Stories’ to be discussed at library Author Bobbie Mason’s book Shiloh and Other Stories will be the next selection for the “Let’s Talk About It” series from 4 to 6 p.m.

Thursday, Aug. 8, at the Haywood County Library in Waynesville.

Mason’s book was nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award, the American Book Award and the PEN/ Faulkner Award. The book won the 1983 Ernest Hemingway Foundation Award in 1983. Mason captures the speech pattern and lifestyle of western Kentucky as her characters confront social change in

their rural environment.

“Let’s Talk About It” is made possible by a grant from the North Carolina Humanities Council and the Friends of the Library.

Refreshments will be served.

828.456.5311 or stanandlinda@charter.net.

Memoir of spiritual journey in Sylva Writer Carolyn Toben will read from her book, Recovering a Sense of the Sacred: Conversations with Thomas Berry, at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 3, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva.

The book is a thoughtful and poignant memoir recounting Toben’s spiritual journey with renowned scholar, author and cultural historian Thomas Berry. For 10 years, she spent many hours in deep discussions with Berry about his transformational thinking for healing the human-earth-divine relationship through recovery of a sense of the sacred. This book is based on her personal notes, practices and reflections from these conversations.

Toben is an educator, counselor, and creator of new social forms with a spiritual dimension that foster cultural renewal. In 2000, she

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Stardust, we share in Matt’s agony about his wife.

There are flaws in the story. Sibley gives us numerous flashbacks to the younger years of Elle and Matt, a story of intense love which may interest the reader at first but which eventually gets in the way of the primary plot.

Because of the dramatic beginning to the story, these visits to the past may become tedious to certain readers eager to read on and find out what finally happens.

There is also a good deal of repetition among the characters in the arguments for allowing Elle to die. Such repetition would occur naturally under such circumstances — the disagreements, which almost split them permanently, between Matt and his mother are vividly rendered — but they, too, serve as anchors on the story, slowing the action and hobbling the pace.

Readers who come to this book expecting Sibley to take sides for or against abortion, or for or against a right to die, will be disappointed. Though she has some opinions on these issues, which she expresses in an interview at the back of the novel, Sibley has not written The Promise of Stardust as a polemic, but has instead chosen to show us all the heartache, all the pain, all the efforts to do the right thing, which such a condition rouses among those who must stand by the bed of a patient in this terrible condition. She doesn’t take sides, but instead follows the wiser course of presenting the predicament and the possible solutions, and then allowing the reader to come to a conclusion.

In spite of the weaknesses cited above — and many readers may not find them flaws at all — The Promise of Stardust is a worthy effort, a cleared-eyed look at death, life, suffering, and above all, the power of love.

founded the Center for Education, Imagination and the Natural World, a work inspired by Berry, which offers children and teachers a new understanding of the human-earth relationship.

828.586.9499.

Duncan to discuss works in Sylva Local author Pamela Duncan will present a reading of her works at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 6, at the Jackson County Public Library Complex in Sylva.

Duncan lives in Cullowhee, where she teaches creative writing at Western Carolina University. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Master of Arts in English/creative writing from North Carolina State University in Raleigh. Her first novel, Moon Women, was a Southeast Booksellers Association Award Finalist, and her second novel, Plant Life, won the 2003 Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Fiction. She is the recipient of the 2007 James Still Award for Writing about the Appalachian South, awarded by the Fellowship of Southern Writers.

Her third novel, The Big Beautiful, was published in March 2007.

This event is co-sponsored by the Friends of the Jackson County Public Library. 828.586.2016 or www.pameladuncan.com.

Outdoors

Smoky Mountain News

32

Breaking the mold Triathlons now starring the aquabike

BY ANDREW KASPER STAFF WRITER o, it’s not Aquaman’s preferred mode of commuting; nor the latest urban workout trend or new-fangled underwater gym equipment.

The aquabike is yet another off-shoot of the classic triathlon now popping up on race calendars — including its first debut at the upcoming Lake Logan Multisport Festival this weekend.

“Swim, bike and done — no run,” sums up Robert Vigorito, chair of the USA Triathlon Mid-Atlantic Regional Council.

The aquabike is the brainchild of race direc-

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tors to attract competitors who, for whatever reason, can’t or don’t like to run.

“A lot of people love to swim and ride their bikes,” Vigorito said. “But they just can’t run long distance.”

The aquabike is a sister to the aquathlon — another triathlon spin-off. The aquathlon foregoes the bike and keeps the run. Both have their own following tailored to a narrower skill set than the full triathlon. And if it’s the swim leg you don’t like? Try the duathlon on for size, which

sports running and biking only. No matter what your weak link is, there’s a combo for you.

The aquabike is the newest on the scene, however. The discipline first appeared in a handful of USAT sanctioned events in 2006 and has been growing since. This year, 100 or more races across the country are sporting the aquabike. Lake Logan’s version this weekend will have a 1,500-meter swim followed by a 24-mile cycling course.

“Aquabike lets us with lingering injuries or those who want to limit the amount of wear and tear to still compete,” said Dr. David Ward, a preventative medicine specialist in Brevard who signed up for the aquabike at Lake Logan this weekend.

A traumatic motor vehicle accident in the 1980s left Ward with multitude of broken bones. He fractured his hip, had to undergo Paul Christopher photo knee surgery and have his elbow reconstructed.

With a long road of rehabilitation ahead of him, it was swimming and biking that got him back into form.

Running for the most part was out of the question for him.

Promoting the aquabike is also a demographics game for race organizers.

Triathlons are populated by men 40 years and older and women 35 and older. It’s only a matter of time before they begin to look for an alternative that is gentler on their aging bodies — and running is usually the cause or the aggravation of most racers’ bodily aches and pains.

The strains on the body from swimming and biking are negligent compared to the pounding effects of a run.

When running, a person’s foot strikes the ground up to 80 times per minute, Ward said. If an athlete is running for hours each week, the number of foot strikes are exponential. And every time the body weight lands on the foot, it’s not just the foot that absorbs the impact — it goes thorough foot, the ankle, knee and back and into the skeleton.

Those impacts can further deteriorate joints and aggravate injuries.

“Anybody who has had knee surgery or hip, ankle, knee problems will tell you running is not their ideal sport,” Ward said.

“Every impact has an impact.”

Ward can run again now — he is actually tackling the aquathlon this weekend as well — but still limits the duration to avoid inflamed joints.

“As I get older, I have to limit the amount of running I do,” Ward said. “Those injuries are still with me.”

Waynesville resident Debbie Wilson will turn 60 years old in January. Nagging lower back pain caused her to give up running, and triathlons, 15 years ago. But the swimming and biking events at the Lake Logan Multisport Festival give her another chance to compete.

It will be her first aquabike, ever, but the assistant high school swim coach is already excited.

“It’s just kind of a fun combination,” she said. “I’m looking forward to trying it and seeing what it’s all about.”

Greg Duff, the race organizer whose company Glory Hound Events puts on the Lake Logan Multisport Festival, is excited to see it take off as well. He thought the aquabike would be a good match for Western North Carolina which is home to a large retiree population that enjoys an active lifestyle.

It also isn’t much extra work to add a swim and bike event when you already have an event set up to accommodate a swim, bike and run triathlon. In total, four races will be offered at Lake Logan for the multisport festival.

“It’s good that I got four events because it’s a little bit for everybody,” Duff said.

“We recognized that running hurts some people and is tough on joints.”

LAKE LOGAN MULTI SPORT EVENT STILL ON UPWARD CLIMB Up to 600 athletes will converge for the Lake Logan Multisport Festival this weekend on Aug. 3-4, testing their strength and stamina in one of four different races sporting various combinations of swimming, running, and biking.

The swimming legs of the race will traverse the pristine and picturesque Lake Logan, the namesake of the event. The bike course is unusually flat and fast for the mountains, surging along the Pigeon River Valley through Bethel and up to the outskirts of Canton before heading back up to Lake Logan. Runners will follow N.C. 215 on an out-and-back leg.

The race has been growing every year since its inception in 2006 and is put on by Glory Hound Events based in Waynesville.

Here’s a look at the line-up: ■ The Olympic-distance triathlon: a 1,500-meter swim, 24-mile bike and 10-kilometer run. Starts at 7 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 3, The Lake Logan triathlon is also the Triathlon Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships, and winners of this race will qualify for the national championships later this year in Wisconsin.

■ The aquabike: a 1,500-meter swim and 24-mile bike. Also starts at 7 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 3. This is the first year this two-sport discipline is being showcased at Lake Logan.

■ The sprint-distance triathlon: a 500-meter swim, 12-mile bike and 5-kilometer run. Starts at 7:30 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 4.

■ The aquathlon: a 1,500-meter swim and a 5-kilometer run.

Starts at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 4. This year, Lake Logan is hosting the Aquathlon National Championships. It is the second time the lake has been home to the championship.

To increase the competitive allure of the race and give spectators a chance to view top triathletes, race organizers have invited winners of other regional triathlons to compete at Lake Logan in their own heat. The elite racers will set out in the first wave of each triathlon, setting the pace for the rest of the pack.

More than 600 participants in total are expected throughout the weekend, some traveling as far away as the West Coast to Western North Carolina to compete in the aquathlon national championships. www.gloryhoundevents.com

outdoors

The Naturalist’s Corner

BY DON H ENDERSHOT

Taking the smart out of growth

Space experts Thurburn Barker (left) and Bob Hayward will discuss the former Rosman Tracking Station near Brevard and its role in space exploration.

Take a journey into space and back in time The Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute will host a program about the role of the astronomical site in the Pisgah National Forest during the historic Apollo space missions.

The talk will be held at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 9, at PARI, and also include a tour of the campus and, weather permitting, celestial observations using PARI’s telescopes.

Astronomer Bob Hayward and Thurburn Barker, director of PARI’s photo archive, will discuss how NASA used the Rosman Tracking Station as the primary East Coast satellite tracking facility in the early days of the space program.

The tracking facility was opened in 1963 and was located on the site PARI now occupies. The campus is 30 buildings on 200 acres and is dedicated to astronomical research and education. It has radio and optical telescopes and earth science instruments.

Reservations are required. The cost is $20 per adult, $15 for seniors and military and $10 for children under age 14. www.pari.edu or 828.862.5554 or cwhitworth@pari.edu.

View from Blackrock. Mountain Resources Commission photo

Fresh. Local. Yours.

Farmers Markets.

Now Open.

Smoky Mountain News

Index provides 183 pages of information at one website that can be broken down into multiple searchable categories and provides a GIS viewer that allows users to layer data sets on a map of the 27 western counties.

Industry and/or prospective employers could look at demographics like population, age, income, etc. The index also provides information on forested landscapes, farmland, development densities, steep slopes, etc that could be useful for developers and/or conservation groups like land trusts.

It’s kinda like one stop shopping. Bill Yarborough, a member of the Mountain Resources Commission’s Technical Advisory Board told Smoky Mountain News in 2012, “It can be used for a lot of different things, but if you are trying to recruit businesses into here, a lot of times they ask these kind of questions. Now the information is all in one place, and you don’t have to go to 20 different organizations or websites to try to find it.”

And why do we need to be rid of it?

Republican Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin, one of the bill’s sponsors in the Senate, told the Asheville Citizen-Times, “What we are trying to do is get rid of a lot of duplicative administrative units and centralize economic development.”

Hmmm, like maybe have everything on one website? Go figure.

(Don Hendershot is a writer and naturalist. He can be reached a ddihen1@bellsouth.net.)

July 31-Aug. 6, 2013

North Carolina House Bill 94 (Amend Environmental Laws) has passed the House and Senate and awaits the governor’s signature. HB 94 is a large (43 pages), unwieldy piece of legislation, much of it aimed at dismantling tried, true and effective environmental policy that has pushed North Carolina to the forefront when it comes to highlighting the role good environmental protection plays in creating successful, sustainable economic growth while protecting the vibrant cultural and natural settings that create community and a sense of place.

“Amended” environmental laws per HB 94 will relax rules governing landfills, expand the range that utilities like Duke Energy can pollute with contaminants from coal ash ponds, further obfuscate chemical disclosures with regards to fracking plus many more.

One particular and inexplicable thumb in the eye to Western North Carolina is the repeal of the Mountains Resources Planning Act. The Mountain Resources Planning Act was passed (with bipartisan support) in 2009. The act created the 17-member Mountain Resources Commission, which was tasked with coordinating the multiple ongoing local efforts to conserve water quality and protect wildlife habitat, native forests, scenic beauty and other natural resources of the 27 mountain counties.

According to a 2009 press release the purpose of the act was to “…encourage quality growth and development while preserving the natural resources, open spaces, and farmland of the mountain region of Western North Carolina.”

Protocol dictated that the 17 members be representative of public, private and business interests across the region — the act specified that 10 members be from the public at large and be residents of the region; five members to represent regional councils of government; one member to represent the Western North Carolina Public Lands Council and one member appointed by the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area. And, hold on to your wallet, the act also declared, “Salary; Expenses.

Members of the Commission shall receive no salary for their service on the Commission but may receive per diem, subsistence, and travel allowances in accor-

dance with Gen. Stat. 120-3.1, 138-5, or 138-6, as appropriate. All expenses shall be paid from funds available to the Commission through the Mountain Area Resources Fund, but no expenses shall be paid if the Mountain Area Resources Fund lacks the necessary funds.”

A major accomplishment of the Mountain Resources Commission was the creation of the Western North Carolina Vitality Index. The index incorporated data to describe and quantify the natural, built, human and cultural environments unique to the western mountains in a way that allows users to get a regional picture or to focus on a particular county. The Vitality

MOUNTAINwise.org Made possible with funding from the North Carolina Community Transformation Grant Project and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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outdoors July 31-Aug. 6, 2013

Bird art on exhibit in Highlands

“Avian Perspectives,” a bird art exhibition featuring paintings, carvings and photography by local artists, will run Aug. 3-31, at the Hudson Library, located on Main Street in Highlands. A public reception for the three artists will be held at 4 p.m.

Tuesday, Aug. 20, at the library.

The Highlands Plateau Audubon Society and the Hudson Library are presenting the exhibition, which features paintings by John Sill, carvings by Joe Riva and photography

by Ed Boos, all of Macon County.

Sill has worked as an artist and illustrator since 1971. His art has appeared in a number of magazines and he has authored several field guides and books. Riva has been carving birds since 1990. His carvings have won awards and been exhibited in shows at the Bascom Louise Gallery and the N.C. Audubon Society annual conference.

Boos was a freelance sports photographer, photographing both amateur and professional sporting events in the late 1970s, before he became interested in wildlife.

86th Annual

and

Parkway rangers lead hike to Fryingpan Tower

Diana Wortham Theatre

Smoky Mountain News

Thursday - SaturdayÊÊUÊÊ7pm AUGUST 1, 2 & 3

Come one night or all three!

Tickets 828-257-4530 www.dwtheatre.com www.folkheritage.org

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Ed Boos photo

yN Ph o to: J e rr

els

on

The Blue Ridge Parkway rangers are continuing their summer hike series with a trip to the Fryingpan Fire Tower.

The guided hike will embark at 10 a.m.

Friday, Aug. 2, on a moderate, 1.5-mile roundtrip hike to the Fryingpan Fire Tower.

Hikers will look for summer wildflowers on the way up and learn about the history of the tower and the life of a fire lookout at the top. At the top of the stairs are panoramic views of the Appalachians.

Because of sequestration cuts, the parkway has had to limit its interpretive hiking program this summer. The hikes will be held once per week alternating between Friday morning and Thursday evening.

Participants will meet at the Fryingpan Trail pullout at milepost 409.6 of the Blue Ridge Parkway, just one mile south of the Pisgah Inn. Participants can park at the gravel Forest Service Road, but not in front of the gate. 828.298.5330 ext. 304

find us at: facebook.com/smnews

Learn about the “submarine” bird outdoors

What American bird can stay under enable them to thrive in frigid air and water for up to 15 seconds in a cold mounwater. tain stream, and why would it?

Donnelly is a professor and the director Biologist Roark Donnelly will give a presentation about the submarine bird Monday, Aug. 5, at the Highlands Civic Center.

Donnelly will present a slide lecture entitled “American Dippers and the The Water Ouzel is a species of bird Future of Fishery Restoration in the that submerges itself underwater for West.” The prosurvival purposes. gram begins at 7:30 p.m. with refreshments at 7 p.m. of the urban ecology program at Oglethorpe These birds, also known as Water University in Atlanta and an instructor at Ouzels, look like a cross between a wren the Wilderness Field Station at Coe College and a thrush. They have several special in Iowa. The talk is sponsored by the adaptations to their aquatic world, which Highlands Plateau Audubon Society.

Lecture to focus on Little T, Chattooga rivers

Folkmoot center gardens get TLC

Smoky Mountain News

arrived for Folkmoot USA. The Richland Creek Garden Club, Waynesville’s first garden club, spruced up the Folkmoot Friendship Center gardens with new flowers, native plants and a good weeding.

Main Street Waynesville wasn’t the only The group planted flowers at the place to get a spit and polish before visitors entrance to the Folkmoot center, focusing and performers from around the world on native plantings to show off the floral beauty that is part of Western North Carolina’s culture and heritage. The group also performed much-needed maintenance of the established plantings in front of the center. The Richland Garden Club, named after Richland Creek, was established in 1949 as the first garden club in the Waynesville area and still maintains many garden plots and plantings in town.

“Even though our primary purpose is to provide a forum for members to learn more about horticulture, gardening, and how to Richland Creek Garden Club members and Folkmoot put what we grow to its best use, I representatives David Stallings (second from left) and also want to inspire members to put that knowledge into practice Karen Babcock (third from left) stand in front of the and take it into our community,” Folkmoot Friendship Center in Hazelwood. said club President Patty Felder.

July 31-Aug. 6, 2013

An upcoming lecture will explore, in depth, the past and the folklore surrounding two of the regions most prominent rivers.

Historian and author Brent Martin will give a lecture titled “Dividing Spring: History and Mythology of the Little Tennessee and Chattooga Headwaters” at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 8, at the Highlands Nature Center.

Martin is a writer, educator and conservationist, and lives in the Cowee community of Western North Carolina. During Martin’s career in conservation he has worked for the Armuchee Alliance, Georgia Forestwatch, the Land Trust for the Little Tennessee and The Wilderness Society, where he currently serves as Southern Appalachian regional director in Sylva. He is also a studied historian and the author of three chapbook collections of poetry.

The talk is part of this summer’s ongoing Zahner Conservation Lecture Series. www.highlandsbiological.org or 828.526.2221.

35

outdoors July 31-Aug. 6, 2013 Smoky Mountain News

Sylva man given state conservation award A retired Western Carolina University professor and Jackson County environmentalist has been given top honors for his work in education and advocacy.

The N.C. Wildlife Federation has honored Dan Pittillo with the Environmental Educator of the Year award.

Pittillo spent 50 years educating at the academic, regional, community and grassroots levels, and is still involved Dan Pittillo in environmental issues across the mountains.

The award is part of the Governor’s Conservation Achievement Awards, (GCAA) an effort to honor individuals, governmental bodies, organizations and others who have exhibited commitment to conservation in North Carolina. The GCAA ceremony will take place at 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 7 at the Embassy Suites in Cary.

Award winners are nominated by the residents of North Carolina and decided upon by a committee of scientists, environmental educators and conservation activists.

Categories of achievement include wildlife conservation, water conservation, forestry, sportsmen and others. This is the 50th anniversary of the awards.

Conservationist recognized for Dillsboro Dam work U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials have honored a Duke Energy scientist for his work in helping to restore aquatic species near the Dillsboro Dam. Hugh Barwick, a senior environmental resource manager, was named Regional Recovery Champion for his work on the Tuckasegee River.

Barwick and a group of biologists spent several days collecting and tagging Appalachian elktoe freshwater mussels and then relocating them upstream of the Dillsboro Dam before the dam’s scheduled demolition in the winter of 2010. Barwick served as the lead scientist for the The endangered Appalachian elktoe freshwater mussel is making a comeback at the former Dillsboro Dam site, thanks group and oversaw to tagging and monitoring efforts by scientists. Scientists (right) search for the endangered Appalachian elktoe at the various phases of former site of the Dillsboro Dam. Donated photos the project. As planned, the demolition was completed by the following spring’s spawning season. Since the dam’s removal, monitoring of the one-mile stretch of restored river has determined that its aquatic ecosystem has recovered, and that the endangered Appalachian elktoe freshwater mussels are reappearing.

“Hugh’s efforts to restore rivers back to free-flowing conditions have helped tremendously in recovery efforts for species like the Appalachian elktoe and for rare fish like the sicklefin redhorse,” said Leopoldo Miranda, assistant regional director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

AMANDA BELL, the first novel by Smoky Mountain News book reviewer JEFF MINICK, is now available at Amazon and on Kindle.

In this modern fairy tale, a woman devastated by crushed hopes and vicious assaults sets out on a strange new path, searching for release from self-imprisonment. On her journey Amanda encounters characters usually associated with the Brothers Grimm: a wicked witch disguised as a homemaker, a friend witty and sharp as an elf, a priest with a bag of wizard's tricks, an architect in the armor of a knight-errant, a ghost offering solace, and four motherless children

COMING SOON: LEARNING AS I GO: COLLECTED ESSAYS 36

Visit Jeff on Facebook at Minick Online

Hikers have the opportunity to embark on a guided biodiversity hike in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and then spend the night at the highest inn east of the Mississippi River.

The trip begins with a guided hike on Aug. 24, up Alum Cave Bluff Trail up to Mount Le Conte with an experienced guide providing natural and human history, biodiversity lessons and more along the way.

That evening, participants will hear a program on the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory, a project to document life in the park, and spend the night at the high-elevation inn at Mount Le Conte.

This annual biodiversity hike to Mount Le Conte costs $275 per person, which will support the biological inventory project.

Reservations are required.

outdoors

A night out at Mount Le Conte

Paddlers at the Canoe Cup Challenge jockey for top spot in the slalom and downriver competitions. todd@dlia.org or 865.430.4757 or www.dlia.org

Wooden bats only in Waynesville softball league The Waynesville Parks and Recreation Department will offer an old school, “wooden bat� softball league this summer.

The organizational meeting will be held at 7:30 pm. Monday, Aug. 12, at the Waynesville Recreation Center. The meeting is mandatory for all team representatives interested in entering a team in the league. The reps must bring a $100 non-refundable cash deposit to secure a team entry.

The wooden bat games will be on Monday and Wednesday nights at the Vance Street field and or the recreation park field. The final payment meeting is scheduled for Aug. 19. The entry fee will depend on the number of teams entered.

828.456.2030 or recathletics@townofwaynesville.org

Summer canoe series concludes Aug. 17-18 The final event of a summer canoe series on the Nantahala River will take place Aug. 17-18 at the Nantahala Outdoor Center in the Nantahala Gorge.

The third Canoe Club Challenge has events for all abilities and age groups with sportsmanship and competition in mind.

It will be held in conjunction with the Georgia Canoeing Association Southeastern Whitewater Championships.

Saturday will feature the Canoe Club Challenge and the slalom course. Paddlers

can register at 9 a.m. on site. The course will be set the day before so paddlers can take practice runs before the race.

Following the Canoe Club final, the NOC will raffle off a new Dagger whitewater kayak as a grand prize. There will also be live music at 8 p.m. Aug. 17 at Big Wesser BBQ & Brew, featuring the Natty Lovejoys.

Sunday will bring the GCA whitewater championships. Registration starts at 9:15 a.m. at the Wayah Forest Service put-in; the course will return them downriver to the NOC bridge. Race registration is $5 for each event and includes entry into slalom and downriver races and a T-shirt.

July 31-Aug. 6, 2013

High school intern Levon Joines helps a young girl during a stream-based educational program in the park.

This summer was no waste for teachers and students who enrolled in a Great Smoky Mountains Park program that put them on the front lines of park management.

The Teacher-Ranger-Teacher and the High School Student Intern programs are six-week paid work experiences in which participants learn about the park through on-site training exercises and helping with regular ranger duties.

Teachers worked alongside Park rangers

in the field, assisting with resource management activities and education programs.

They also developed park-based curriculum for their classrooms. Six local teachers signed up from Tennessee and North Carolina this year, including Rich Harvey from Swain West Elementary.

Twenty-three high school students also signed up, heralding from Haywood, Swain and Jackson counties, Cherokee and other schools in the region. The interns assisted scientists and Park staff with field research and education programs while exploring possible careers. They gained knowledge about wildlife biology, fisheries science, botany, forest and stream ecology, geology, Cherokee history and culture, Appalachian history and park management.

Smoky Mountain News

Students and teachers make the Smokies their classroom

37

38

WNC Calendar

Smoky Mountain News

BUSINESS & EDUCATION • Free 90-minute computer class, Intermediate Excel, 5:45 p.m. Wednesday, July 31, Jackson County Public Library. Space limited to 16. Register at 586.2016.

• Free 90-minute class on how to sell items on Craigslist, 5:45 p.m. Monday, Aug. 5, Jackson County Public Library, and Sylva. Class size limited. Register at 586.2016.

• Issues & Eggs - Let the Good Times Roll, 8 a.m.

Wednesday, Aug. 7, Anthony Wayne’s Restaurant, The Gateway Club, 37 Church St., Waynesville. 456.3021.

• Women in Business Luncheon, 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 8, Anthony Wayne’s Restaurant, The Gateway Club, 37 Church St., Waynesville. 456.3021

COMMUNITY EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS • Microchip clinic for dogs and cats, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Saturday, Aug. 3, Haywood Spay/Neuter. $15. Make an appointment at 452.1329.

• The Big Latch On, 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 3, Jackson County Public Library, second floor Community Room, Sylva. To celebrate World Breastfeeding Week. www.biglatchon.org . Teresa Bryant, 587.8214.

• Indoor Flea Market, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 3, Haywood County Fairgrounds, Highway 209 N., Lake Junaluska. Booth information, 400.1529.

• Altrusa and Haywood Rotary School Supply Drive, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 3, Walmart, Waynesville. www.waynesvillealtrusa.org .

• Sarge’s Animal Rescue Foundation Downtown Waynesville Dog Walk, 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 3, downtown Waynesville. Registration at 9 a.m., Haywood County Courthouse on Main Street. 246.9050 or visit the Sarge’s website, or Facebook page.

• Quilt raffle to support the Ronald McDonald House.

Haywood Community College quilting students will sell raffle tickets at the Haywood County Fairgrounds flea markets Saturday, Aug. 3 and Sept. 7. Drawing for quilt at noon, Sept. 7. Tickets are $1 each or six for $5.

Purchase tickets at 734.3848 or 565.4245.

• Lake Junaluska Woman ‘s Club Fashion Show and Scholarship Luncheon, noon Monday, Aug. 5, Lambuth Inn, Lake Junaluska. Open to members and non-members. Tickets are $25 and benefit summer workers at Lake Junaluska.

• Mountain Moral Monday, non-partisan event, 5 to 6:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 5, Pack Square Park, Asheville.

Featured speaker, Rev. Dr. William Barber, North Carolina NAACP. http://www.naacpnc.org/, http://mountainmoralmonday.com/.

• Franklin Open Forum, “What are the essential elements of a good life?” 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 7, the Rathskeller Coffee Haus and Pub in Franklin. FOF is a moderated discussion group, meeting on the first Wednesday of the month. Open exchange of ideas (dialog not debate). 349.0598.

• Jackson County Genealogical Society, 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 8, Community Room, Jackson County Courthouse, Sylva. Speaker, Joe Rhinehart. Topic: “The History of the Jackson County Historical Association and Webster Historical Society.” 631.2646.

• Memorial Butterfly Release ceremony, 10:30 a.m.

Thursday, Aug. 8, Angel Medical Center, Franklin.

Bonnie Peggs, 349.6639.

• Keller Williams Realty Waynesville/Maggie Valley clothes swap for Haywood County children, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 10, 2562 Dellwood Road, Waynesville.

926.5155 or frontdesk@kellerwilliamswaynesville.com.

All phone numbers area code 828 unless otherwise noted.

• 5th annual People’s Choice Concours, In Den Bergen, featuring more than 70 Porsches, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Saturday, Aug. 10, Waynesville Inn Golf Resort and Spa, Waynesville. Benefit for Sarge’s Animal Rescue. www.sargeandfriends.org, 246.9050 or visit Sarge’s Facebook page.

• Smoky Mountain Knitting Guild annual Charity Fundraiser and Fashion Show, 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 10, HART Theatre, 250 Pigeon St., Waynesville. To benefit the Good Samaritan Clinic. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased at Blue Ridge Bookstore, 152 S. Main St., Waynesville, The Good Samaritan Clinic, or by calling 246.4651.

• 77th annual Burress reunion, noon to 5 p.m. Aug. 11, Camp Hope, Cruso. Bring a covered dish to share. Tina Kahle, 400.4515 or Sherry Burress 400.0355.

VOLUNTEERING • The Haywood County Meals on Wheels needs drivers in the following areas: Tuesdays – Route #21 – Saunook and Fridays – Route #11 – Jonathan Creek. Also need substitute drivers on several routes throughout the county. Jeanne Naber, program coordinator, 356.2442, jnaber@haywoodnc.net.

BLOOD DRIVES Jackson • Sylva Community Blood Drive, 1:30 to 5:30 p.m.

Friday, Aug. 2, Jackson Senior Center, 100 County Services Park, Sylva. 800.RedCross or www.redcrossblood.org Keyword: Sylva.

Haywood • Heather Reid Memorial Blood Drive, 1 to 6:30 p.m.

Thursday, Aug. 8, First United Methodist Church, 566 S. Haywood St., Waynesville. 734.6616.

Macon • Mountain Valley Fire Department Blood Drive, 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 10, 188 Echo Valley Road, Franklin. Joyce Carpenter, 421.3454.

HEALTH MATTERS • Free Lunch and Learn session from noon to 1 p.m.

Friday, Aug. 2, MedWest-Harris board room, with orthopedic surgeon Jud Handley, MD and Robin Pope, Ph.D., PA-C. Lunch provided. Advance reservations are required. 631-8894.

THE SPIRITUAL SIDE • Trish Thompson, a Dharma teacher, ordained by Thich Nhat Hanh and a certified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction instructor, will offer a workshop from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 3, at St. David’s Episcopal church in Cullowhee. Michael Hudson, stdavids1879@gmail.com.

• 2013 Global Leadership Summit, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Aug. 8-9, broadcast live from Willow Creek Community Church to host site Lake Junaluska’s Stuart Auditorium.

Gen. Colin Powell one of 13 speakers. www.willowcreek.com/summit, 800.570.9812.

• Friends of the Museum Dinner, 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 9, Lambuth Inn, Lake Junaluska , featuring speaker Charles Brockwell, Kentucky Conference minister and theologian. Benefit for the World Methodist Council Museum at Lake Junaluska. Museum open house, 4 to

5:30 p.m. before the dinner. Brockwell is the son-in-law of Wright Spears. $18, includes tax and tip.

Reservations at 456.9432 or by visiting the World Methodist Council office. Don Rankin, 452.5034.

SENIOR ACTIVITIES • Free seminar, “The Health Benefits of Essential Oils” 2 to 3 p.m. Wednesday, July 31, Jackson County Senior Center Board Room. 586.4944.

• Photography class for senior citizens, 1 to 2 p.m.

Thursdays in August, Jackson County Senior Center, Sylva. Optional lab sessions, 2 to 3 p.m. Dates are Aug. 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29. Class is free for senior participants and $10 for all classes for non-participants. 586.4944, 226.3840.

• Tai Chi for Health, 3 p.m. Tuesdays, Aug. 6 – Sept.

24. $10 for participants and $15 for non-participants.

Class size is limited. Sign up in the Lobby of the Jackson County Senior Center or call 586.4944.

• Laughter Yoga Club required introductory seminar, 1 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 7, Room 134, Jackson County Senior Center, Sylva. 586.4944.

• Johanna Dewees RN, Nurse Navigator with MedWest Haywood, will present information on the services available at the MedWest Haywood Outpatient Care Center, 1 to 3 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 7, Senior Resource Center of Haywood County, 81 Elmwood Way, Waynesville.

452.2370.

• Balance Class, a twelve week exercise program to improve balance, 3 to 4 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays, Aug.14 – Nov.1, Jackson County Senior Center. Cost is $ 25.00, payable after screening on Aug. 13. Register to be screened for this class by calling 631.8033 today.

Space is limited.

KIDS & FAMILIES • Student Volunteer, Thursday, Aug. 1, Great Smoky Mountains National Park. For high school students and recent graduates and their families. Logistics and details, call Ranger Beth, 497.1907.

• Smokey Bear’s 69th birthday party, 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 3, Cradle of Forestry, Pisgah National Forest. Admission fee to the Cradle of Forestry is $6 for adults, $3 for youth, ages 4 to 15, and free for children under four years old.

877.3130 or www.cradleofforestry.org.

• Become a Citizen Scientist, 10 to 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 6, Oconaluftee Visitor Center Administration Building, near Cherokee. For children age 10 and older.

Park Ranger Emily Guss, 865.436.1713.

Summer Camps • Tennis Lifesong Summer Camps, Tuesdays through Fridays, through Aug. 23 at Lake JunaluskaBunnie Allare, 513.608.9621, www.lakejunaluska.com/tennis or www.facebook.com/tennisLifesong.

• Lake Junaluska Summer Day Camp, through Aug. 9, for ages 24 months through rising sixth graders. Half day, full day available. Come all summer or for just a few days. www.lakejunaluska.com/children, lkrekelberg@lakejunaluska.com, 454.6681. Registration forms available online.

Science & Nature • Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute program about the role of the astronomical site in the Pisgah National Forest during the historic Apollo space missions, 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 9, at PARI. Campus tour, and weather permitting, celestial observations using PARI’s telescopes. Reservations required. $20 per adult, $15 for seniors and military and $10 for children under age 14. www.pari.edu or 862.5554 or cwhitworth@pari.edu.

Visit www.smokymountainnews.com and click on Calendar for: ■ Complete listings of local music scene ■ Regional festivals ■ Art gallery events and openings ■ Complete listings of recreational offerings at regional health and fitness centers ■ Civic and social club gatherings

Literary (children) • Ms. Doris Mager, the Eagle Lady, 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 1, Canton Library , and 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 7, Waynesville Library. Seating is limited. For groups of 10 or more, call ahead to reserve a spot.

452.5169, Waynesville, 648.2924, Canton.

• Bedtime Math Pajama Party, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, Aug. 1, Macon County Public Library, 149 Siler Farm Road, Franklin. 524.3600.

• Children’s Story time, Favorites, 11 a.m. Friday, Aug. 2, Jackson County Public Library, Sylva. 586.2016.

• Children’s Story time with Miss Sally, Favorites, 3:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 2, Jackson County Public Library, Sylva. 586.2016.

• Dog reading drop-in, 9 to 11 a.m. Monday, Aug. 5, Macon County Public Library, Franklin. 524.3600.

• Toddlers Rock, 4 to 4:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 5, Macon County Public Library, Franklin. 524.3600.

• Children’s Story time, Rotary Readers, 11 a.m.

Monday, Aug. 5, Jackson County Public Library, Sylva.

586.2016.

• Children’s Story time, Favorites, 11 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 6, Jackson County Public Library, Sylva. 586.2016.

• Story time, Smokey Bear is coming! 10 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 6, Macon County Public Library, Franklin, 524.3600.

• Lego Club for all ages, 4 to 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 8, Macon County Public Library, Franklin. 524.3600.

ECA EVENTS • Extension and Community Association (ECA) groups meet throughout the county at various locations and times each month. NC Cooperative Extension Office, 586.4009.

9:30 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 1 – Christmas in August and White Elephant, Potpourri ECA, Conference Room of Community Service Center, Sylva.

6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 5 – Stepping Stones, Kountry Krafters ECA, Tuckasegee Wesleyan Church, Tuckasegee.

Noon, Thursday, Aug. 8 - ECA Craft Club Workshop: Huck Towel Embroidery, Conference Room of Community Service Center, Sylva (call Extension Office to sign up).

Noon, Thursday, Aug. 8 – Lunch and Learn ECA will be attending the ECA Craft Club Workshop, Conference Room of Community Service Center, Sylva.

POLITICAL GROUP EVENTS & LOCAL GOVERNMENT • Mountain High Republican Women’s Club luncheon, 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 6, Trillium Links and Lake Club, Cashiers. Guest speaker is former Muslim, Iraj Ghanouni, who emigrated to the U.S. in 1978 and became a naturalized citizen in 1992. Topic is “Can a non-Muslim Culture Accommodate Islam?” Reservations

by Friday, Aug. 2. $25 in advance or $30 at the door.

526.4146 or email mtnrepublicanwomen@yahoo.com.

SUPPORT GROUPS Jackson

A&E LITERARY (ADULTS) • Metal sculptor Grace Cathey will sign copies of her new book, Fire & Steel: The Sculpture of Grace Cathey, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 2, and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 3, 136 Depot St. (Walker Service), Waynesville. www.gracecathey.com. • Friends of the Library annual Book Sale “Half Price Sale,â€? 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 2, Haywood Public Library, Waynesville, and $5 Bag Sale, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 3. Bring your own bags and boxes if possible. 627.2370. • Writer Carolyn Toben will read from her book, Recovering a Sense of the Sacred: Conversations with Thomas Berry, 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 3, City Lights Bookstore, Sylva. 586.9499. • Award winning local author Pamela Duncan will present a reading of her works at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 6, at the Jackson County Public Library Complex, Sylva. 586.2016 or www.pameladuncan.com.

FESTIVALS, SPECIAL & SEASONAL EVENTS • Junaluska Woman’s Club’s Creative Endeavors Arts and Crafts Show, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 9-10, Harrell Center, Lake Junaluska. Featuring more than 30 artisans. • 5th annual Mountain High BBQ Festival and Car Show, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 9 and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 10, Wayne Proffitt Agricultural Center, Highway 441 South, Franklin. Kansas City Barbecue Society sanctioned festival. $5 adults; children 12 and under free. www.MountainHighBBQFestival.com, 524.3161.

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• Pop Ferguson Blues Review, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 3, Stecoah Valley Cultural Arts Center, Robbinsville. Tickets are $15 for adults, $5 for students grades K-12. 479.3364 or www.stecoahvalleycenter.com or www.reverbnation.com/cjblues. • “Side By Side By Sondheim,â€? 2 p.m. Aug. 3, Performing Arts Center at the Shelton House, 250 Pigeon St., Waynesville. 456.6322, www.harttheatre.com. • The Black Crowes, 9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 2, Harrah’s Cherokee Event Center. Tickets $25, $35 and $45. For those 21 years of age and older. 800.745.3000 or www.harrahscherokee.com.

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• Brigadoon, 7:30 p.m. Aug. 1-3; 3 p.m. Aug. 4, Performing Arts Center at the Shelton House, 250 Pigeon St., Waynesville. Tickets: $24 for adults, $20 for seniors, $12 for students. Special $8 discount tickets for students for Thursday and Sunday productions. • Daytime classic and country music, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 1, Meeting Room, Macon County Public Library, Franklin. Music provided local musicians, Lady & The Old Timers. • Music with Marshall Ballew, 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 1, Macon County Public Library Meeting Room, Franklin. • The Light of the Lake, Lake Junaluska’s Centennial Celebration theatrical production, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 3, Stuart Auditorium, Lake Junaluska. Tickets at www.lakejunaluska.com/light-of-the-lake or the Bethea Welcome Center at Lake Junaluska.

800.222.4930, www.lakejunaluska.com/100.

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• Macon County-based songwriter, Angela-Faye Martin, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 3, Nantahala Brewing Company performance hall and tasting room in Bryson City. 488.2337, www.nantahalabrewing.com.

July 31-Aug. 6, 2013

• Let’s Talk About It series, Shiloh and Other Stories,

by Bobbie Ann Mason. Discussion from 4 to 6 p.m.

Thursday, Aug. 8, auditorium of the Waynesville branch of the Haywood County Library. Led by WCU’s Russell Binkley. 456.5311 or stanandlinda@charter.net .

!44%.4)/. $%.452% 7%!2%23 !

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• Look Good, Feel Better program of the American Cancer Society, 10 a.m. to noon, Monday, Aug. 5, Harris Medical Park conference room, 98 Doctors Drive, Sylva. Makeup and other supplies provided.

Look Good, Feel Better programs also will be held Monday, Oct. 7 and Monday, Dec. 2. Mary E. Mahon, RN, 631.8100.

ON STAGE & IN CONCERT • Family friendly Concerts on the Creek, every Friday during summer, 7:30 to 9:30 p.m., Sylva Bridge Park Pavilion near Scott Creek: Aug. 2, Whitewater Bluegrass Company; Aug. 9, Lonesome Sound.

800.962.1911, www.mountainlovers.com.

• Trace Adkins, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 10, Harrah’s Cherokee Event Center, 777 Casino Drive, Cherokee. www.ticketmaster.com. Must be 21 years of age or older to attend. 800.745.3000. • 16th annual Fines Creek Bluegrass Jam, 5 p.m.

Friday, Aug. 9, and 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 10, Fines Creek Community Center, 190 Fines Creek Road, just off I-40, exit 15. Bring a lawn chair. www.FinesCreek.org.

NIGHT LIFE • Live music schedule at the Nantahala Outdoor Center: 8 to 11 p.m. Aug. 2, Playing on the Planet; 8 to 11 p.m. Aug. 3, Jackleg; 8 to 11 p.m. Aug. 9, Audio Alliance; and 8 to 11 p.m. Aug. 10, Secret B Sides. www.noc.com.

STOREWIDE

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Smoky Mountain News

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• Mountaineer Restaurant, 64904 Soco Road, Maggie Valley Live Music on the Patio, Saturdays from 6 to 9 p.m., David Cody, Aug. 3.

• Asheville’s rock/funk quintet East Coast Dirt, 8 p.m.

Saturday, Aug. 10, BearWaters Brewing Co., Waynesville. www.eastcoastdirt.net.

OUTDOOR MUSIC CALENDAR • Whitewater Bluegrass Company, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 2, Concerts on the Creek, downtown Sylva at Bridge Park. 800.962.1911.

• Soldiers Heart, 6:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 2, Groovin’ on the Green, Village Commons, Cashiers.

• Curtis Blackwell, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 3, Pickin’ on the Square, Lower Level Town Hall, Franklin.

524.2516.

• Lonesome Sound, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 9, Concerts on the Creek, downtown Sylva at Bridge Park.

800.962.1911.

• Unspoken Tradition, 6:30 p.m., Friday, Aug. 9, Groovin’ on the Green, Village Commons, Cashiers.

JAMS • Music Jam, 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 1, Marianna Black Library, Bryson City. 488.2382.

• Back Porch Old-Time Music Jam, 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 3, porch of the Oconaluftee Visitor Center, 194 Newfound Gap Road, Great Smoky Mountains.

• Open Mic, 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 3, Pickin’ on the Square, Lower Town Level, Franklin. 524.2516.

• Mountain Street Dance, 6:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 9, Main Street, downtown Waynesville. .

July 31-Aug. 6, 2013

DANCE • High Mountain Squares, 6:30 to 9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 2, Macon County Community Building on Route 441 S. Jim Cosman will call. Western style square dancing, main/stream and plus levels. 371.4946, 342.1560, 332.0001, or www.highmountainsquare.org.

• Pisgah Promenaders “Back to School” square dance, 6:45-8:45, Saturday, Aug. 10, Old Armory Recreation Center, 44 Boundary St., Waynesville.

Donations of school supplies for a local school requested but not required. 586.8416, Jackson County, 452.5917, Haywood County. Square dance lessons, 926.0695.

OTHER EVENTS

Smoky Mountain News

• Spencers Theatre of Illusion, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 3, Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts, Franklin. Tickets start at $15. www.greatmountainmusic.com or 866.273.4615.

• “Evolution of the Hula-hoop” 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 8, Macon County Library in Franklin. Learn arm or hand hooping, or just watch others. Kelly Jewel Timco, instructor. Handmade hoops available for sale.488.3030.

• Game Day, 2 p.m. third Saturday of the month, Papou’s Wine Shop, Sylva. Bring cards, board games, etc. 586.6300.

• Bingo, 5:45 p.m. Thursdays, through Sept. 5, Pavilion next to Maggie Valley Town Hall. Cash prizes.

• High-fashion exhibition, ReDress: Upcycled Style by Nancy Judd, through Aug.18, The Bascom, Highlands. www.TheBascom.org, 526.4949.

FOOD & DRINK • Cellar Club, 7 to 9 p.m. first Tuesday of the month, Papou’s Wine Shop, Sylva. Membership prices, $50 per person, $75 per couple. Wine tastings, food pairings.

40 586.6300, papouswineshop@frontier.com.

• “Little Black Dress Night,” every first Friday of the month at Papou’s Wine Shop in Sylva. The next event will be Aug. 2, with wine glass specials and socializing. 586.6300 or papouswineshop@frontier.com.

• Gathering Table, 5 to 7 p.m. Thursdays, at The Community Center, Route 64, Cashiers. Provides fresh, nutritious dinners to all members of the community regardless of ability to pay. Volunteers always needed and donations gratefully accepted. 743.9880.

ART/GALLERY EVENTS & OPENINGS • Art After Dark, Friday, Aug. 2, downtown Waynesville.

• “ARTSHARE,” 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 2, Haywood County Arts Council, 86 N. Main St. Waynesville. Sale of art owned by the public, such as estate art or art people have donated when they downsized. www.haywoodarts.org.

• “Avian Perspectives,” a bird art exhibition featuring paintings, carvings and photography by local artists, Aug. 3-31, Hudson Library, Main Street, Highlands.

Artists’ reception, 4 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 20, at the library.

• Painter Kel Tanner solo exhibition, Aug. 7 to Sept. 2, Haywood County Arts Council’s Gallery 86, downtown Waynesville. Artist reception, 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 9, at the gallery. www.haywoodarts.org.

•“Dining for The Bascom” 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Aug. 7, Lakeside Restaurant, Highlands.

Diners will help The Bascom visual arts center by having 15 percent of the gross sales from their meals donated to the nonprofit organization. “Evenings at Lakeside” will continue until Oct. 1. 526.9419. www.TheBascom.org, 526.4949.

CLASSES, PROGRAMS & DEMONSTRATIONS • Exhibit featuring works by WNC painter Elizabeth Ellison and fabric crafter Ann Smith, through Sept. 2, North Carolina Arboretum, Asheville. www.ncarboretum.org, 665.2492.

• Family movie, 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 5, Marianna Black Library, Bryson City. Modern treasure hunters, search for a chest of riches rumored to have been stashed away by George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin during the Revolutionary War. 488.3030 or www.fontanalib.org/brysoncity.

• New movie directed by Ben Affleck about the rescue of six American hostages in Iran in 1979, 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 7, Macon County Public Library. Rated R for language and some violent images. 524.3600.

• Family movie, 1 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 8, Macon County Public Library, Franklin. 524.3600.

• Classic 1945 movie, 2 p.m. Friday, Aug. 9, Meeting Room. Macon County Public Library, Franklin.

524.3600.

Outdoors OUTINGS, HIKES & FIELDTRIPS • Franklin Bird Club weekly bird walk, Wednesday, July 31, along the Greenway. Meet at 8 a.m. at Salali Lane.

Led by Paula Gorgoglione. 524.5234.

• Franklin Bird Club weekly bird walk, 8 a.m.

Wednesday, July 31, along the Greenway. Led by Paula Gorgoglione. Meet at Salali Lane. Parking is off Fox Ridge Road. 524.5234.

• Blue Ridge Parkway hike to Fryingpan Fire Tower, 10 a.m. Friday, Aug. 2. Moderate, 1.5-mile roundtrip Park at the gravel Forest Service Road, but not in front of the gate. 298.5330 x 304 • Raft For Kids’ Sake fund raiser for Big Brothers/Big Sisters, 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 3, Wildwater Nantahala. Wildwater reception will follow the trip.

Reservations at www.wildwaterrafting.com or at 877.247.5535.

“Creating Stained Glass” course, 6 to 9 p.m.

Thursdays, beginning Aug. 1 through Sept. 5, south lobby of the Cordelia Camp Building, Western Carolina University.$85. Register at Office of Continuing Education, 227.7397, 800.928.4968, or go online to learn.wcu.edu and click on “Conferences and Community Classes.”

• Biologist Roark Donnelly presentation about the submarine bird, 7:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 5, at the Highlands Civic Center.

• Art League of the Smokies, 6:15 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 6, Swain County Center for the Arts, Swain County High School, 1415 Fontana Road, Bryson City. The DVD “Beautiful Botanicals—Painting and Drawing Flowers and Plants” with Bente Starcke King will be shown.

Jenny Johnson, 488.7843, www.swain.k12.nc.us/cfta.

• Historian and author Brent Martin will give a lecture titled “Dividing Spring: History and Mythology of the Little Tennessee and Chattooga Headwaters” at 7 p.m.

Thursday, Aug. 8, at the Highlands Nature Center. The talk is part of this summer’s ongoing Zahner Conservation Lecture Series. www.highlandsbiological.org, 526.2221.

• Chair seat weaving class 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 6-7, KJ’s Needle in a Haystack Cross Stitch Shop in Dillsboro. Junetta Pell, instructor. Cost for the class includes materials purchased for the chair seat plus a $5 class fee. 586.2435 or junettapell@hotmail.com.

• Wheel Throwing, 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesdays, through Aug. 6, Riverwood Pottery, Dillsboro. $160, 586.3601, riverwoodpottery@frontier.com.

• Western North Carolina Woodturners Club, 6 p.m.

Thursday, Aug. 8, Blue Ridge School, Glenville.

FILM & SCREEN • New movie, 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 31, Macon County Public Library, Franklin. Stars Matthew Macfadyen, Keira Knightley and Jude Law. 524.3600.

• Family movie, 1 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 1, Macon County Public Library, Franklin. 524.3600.

• Classic movie, 2 p.m. Friday, Aug. 2, Meeting Room, Macon County Public Library, Franklin. Stars Gregory Peck and Jane Wyman.

• Franklin bird club weekly bird walk, 8 a.m.

Wednesday, Aug. 7, along the Greenway. Led by Karen Lawrence. Meet at the Big Bear shelter parking area.

524.5234.

PROGRAMS & WORKSHOPS • Woodsy Owl’s Curiosity Club, 10:30 a.m. to noon and 1:30 to 3 p.m. Thursdays through Aug. 1, Cradle of Forestry, Pisgah National Forest, NC Highway 276.

Summer nature series for children ages 4 to 7. www.cradleofforestry.org, 877.3130.

• Ron Sutherland, 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 1, Highlands Nature Center, 930 Horse Cove Road, Highlands. Topic is red wolf reintroduction. Zahner Conservation Lecture Series. www.highlandsbiological.org, 526.2221.

SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK • Back Porch Old-Time Music, 1 to 3 p.m. Saturdays, Aug. 3 and 17, Oconaluftee Visitor Center porch, 194 Newfound Gap Road, Cherokee. 497.1904, www.nps.gov. Bring an acoustic instrument or just listen.

• Junior Ranger: Whoooooo Gives a Hooooot? 2:30 p.m.

Sundays through Aug. 4, Oconaluftee Visitor Center porch, 194 Newfound Gap Road, Cherokee. 497.1904, www.nps.gov.

• Junior Ranger: I wish I lived in the good ol’ days! 2 p.m. Thursdays through Aug. 8, Mountain Farm Museum adjacent to the Oconaluftee Visitor Center, 194 Newfound Gap Road, Cherokee. 497.1904, www.nps.gov.

• Junior Ranger: What Story? 11:30 a.m. Thursdays through Aug. 8, Oconaluftee River Trail adjacent to the Oconaluftee Visitor Center, 194 Newfound Gap Road, Cherokee. 497.1904, www.nps.gov.

• Junior Ranger: Being a Kid in the Mountains, 10 a.m. Saturdays through Aug. 9, Oconaluftee Visitor Center, 194 Newfound Gap Road, Cherokee. 497.1904, www.nps.gov.

• Smokemont Night Hike, 8:45 p.m. Fridays through Aug. 9, Bradley Fork Trailhead, D-Loop Smokemont Campground. Limited to 25 participants. Reservations, 497.1904, www.nps.gov.

• Junior Ranger: Stream Splashers, 1 p.m. Saturdays and 2 p.m. Mondays, through Aug. 10, Oconaluftee River adjacent to the Mountain Farm Museum, 194 Newfound Gap Road, Cherokee. 497.1904, www.nps.gov.

COMPETITIVE EDGE • Lake Logan Multisport Festival, Aug. 3-4, Lake Logan, Canton. www.GloryHoundEvents.com.

• Fourth annual Blue Ridge Breakaway, Saturday, Aug. 17, Haywood County. Pre-register online at www.BlueridgeBreakaway.com.

• Murphy Medical Center’s “Two Hours from Anywhere” 5-K challenge, two-mile heart walk, and kids’ fun run, Saturday, Sept. 21. Registration forms online at, murphymedical.org, under the ‘news’ section, in the hospital’s lobbies and cafeteria, at area fitness centers, and area doctor’s offices. 835.7506.

FARM & GARDEN • Macon County Beekeepers Association, 7 p.m.

Thursday, Aug. 1, Cooperative Extension Office on Thomas Heights Road, Franklin. 524.5234 • Haywood County Beekeepers Association, 7 p.m.

Tuesday, Aug. 6, County Extension Center, 589 Raccoon Road, Waynesville. Speaker will be Will Hicks, a state apiary inspector from the Wake County area.

FARMER’S & TAILGATE MARKETS Waynesville • Haywood’s Historic Farmers Market Wednesdays and Saturdays, 250 Pigeon St, Waynesville in the parking lot of the HART Theatre. 627.1058. www.waynesvillefarmersmarket.com.

• The Original Waynesville Tailgate Market 8 a.m. to noon, Wednesdays and Saturdays, 171 Legion Dr., Waynesville, at the American Legion behind Bogart’s restaurant. 648.6323. www.buyhaywood.com.

Canton • Canton Tailgate Market will be open from 8 a.m. to noon Tuesdays and Thursdays at Municipal parking area, 58 Park Street in Canton. 235.2760. www.buyhaywood.com.

Sylva • Jackson County Farmers Market SNAP food stamp benefits or Credit/Debit. Jenny McPherson, 631.3033. www.mountainlovers.com, Facebook or www.jacksoncountyfarmersmarket.org.

• EBT/SMAP Match Incentive, through Aug. 10, Jackson County Farmers Market, Sylva. The first 15 SNAP recipients who spend as little as $1 at the farmers market will receive a $5 coupon to be spent at the market.

PRIME REAL ESTATE

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

MarketPlace information: The Smoky Mountain News Marketplace has a distribution of 16,000 every week to over 500 locations across in Haywood, Jackson, Macon, and Swain counties along with the Qualla Boundary and west Buncombe County. For a link to our MarketPlace Web site, which also contains a link to all of our MarketPlace display advertisers’ Web sites, visit www.smokymountainnews.com.

LIVING ESTATE SALE Aug. 1, 2 & 3rd from 9am to 4pm & Saturday 9am to 12:30pm. Old Metal Glider, Furniture, Housewares, Pictures, Jewelry...

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■ Free — Residential yard sale ads, lost or found pet ads.

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■ $12 — Classified ads that are 50 words or less; each additional line is $2.

■ $12 — If your ad is 10 words or less, it will be displayed with a larger type.

■ $3 — Border around ad and $5 — Picture with ad.

■ $35 — Non-business items, 25 words or less. 3 month or till sold.

■ $300 — Statewide classifieds run in 117 participating newspapers with 1.6 million circulation. Up to 25 words.

■ All classified ads must be pre-paid.

ALLISON CREEK Iron Works & Woodworking. Crafting custom metal & woodwork in rustic, country & lodge designs with reclaimed woods! Design & consultation, Barry Downs 828.524.5763, Franklin NC

AUCTION

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ABSOLUTE REAL ESTATE Auction, Prime Commercial Land off Major Interchange in Chatham Co., Pittsboro, NC, August 12, 2013 at 11am, Auction at Dan Pollitt Center in Pittsboro. Iron Horse Auction Company, Inc. 800.997.2248, NCAL3936, www.ironhorseauction.com PROMOTE YOUR AUCTION With a classified ad published in 100 North Carolina newspapers with over 1.3 million circulation. A 25-word ad is only $330. For more information, call NCPS at 919.789.2083 or visit www.ncpsads.com.

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27 Tracts - Totaling 873± Acres Sold ABSOLUTE to the Highest Bidder. Auction held August 8, 5 PM at Holiday Inn - Tanglewood. For more details visit woltz.com or contact Woltz & Associates, Inc. (VA#321) Brokers & Auctioneers, Roanoke, VA. 800.551.3588.

BUILDING MATERIALS HAYWOOD BUILDERS Garage Doors, New Installations Service & Repairs, 828.456.6051 100 Charles St. Waynesville Employee Owned.

WHITE PINE, HEMLOCK, POPLAR Lumber and Timbers, Any Size!

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CONSTRUCTION/ REMODELING DAVE’S CUSTOM HOMES OF WNC, INC Free Estimates & Competitive rates. References avail. upon request. Specializing in: Log Homes, remodeling, decks, new construction, repairs & additions.

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Licensed/Insured. 828.631.0747 or 828.508.0316 SULLIVAN HARDWOOD FLOORS Installation- Finish - Refinish 828.399.1847.

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CAMPERS 2004 36’ COACHMAN CATALINA Camper: Living Room Slide-Out & BR Slide-Out, King Bedroom, Queen Sleeper-Sofa, Fully Eqpd.

Kitchen, Large Bathroom w/ Corner Shower, Solar Panels, Lots of Extras! $18,000. Call for more info 828.734.4624 or 828.734.3480

CARS - DOMESTIC DONATE YOUR CAR Fast Free Towing 24 hr. Response Tax Deduction UNITED BREAST CANCER FOUNDATION Providing Free Mammograms & Breast Cancer Info 888.759.9782. SAPA DONATE YOUR CAR Fast Free Towing. 24 hr. Response.

Tax Deduction. United Breast Cancer Foundation, Providing Free Mammograms & Breast Cancer Info 855.733.5472 DONATE YOUR CAR, Truck or Boat to Heritage for the Blind. Free 3 Day Vacation, Tax Deductible, Free Towing, All Paperwork Taken Care Of. 800.337.9038.

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BUSINESS FOR SALE CLEANING BUSINESS FOR SALE

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Individual must be dependable and customer orientated. Please contact Kisha at Pathways Thrift Store 828-631-5533 for more information and to apply.

Applications also available at Disability Partners, 525 Mineral Springs Drive Sylva NC.

HIGHLANDS-CASHIERS HOSPITAL Positions now available: Chief Nursing Officer/Director of Patient Care Services, Director of Human Resources and Volunteer Services, Med/Surg Registered Nurses, Maintenance Mechanic, and Radiologic Technologist.

Benefits available the first of the month following 60 days of full-time employment. PreEmployment screening required.

Call Human Resources.

828.526.1376, or apply online at: www.highlandscashiershospital. org NC LICENSED MASSAGE THERAPIST Needed for established & growing spa in Sylva. Pay based upon experience. Please email for more details: sandra@fusionsspa.com

DRIVERS: Home Weekly. Pay up to $.40/mi., 70% D&H, 90% No Touch Freight.

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2013-2014 VACANCIES: Physics (9-12), Biology (9-12), Biology/Physics (9-12), Earth Science (9-12), Mathematics (8-12), Physical Science (5-8). Signing Bonus $2,000. Prince Edward County Public Schools, Farmville, VA. 434.315.2100. www.pecps.k12.va.us Closing Date: Until filled. EOE

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199-42

Puzzles can be found on page 45.

www.smokymountainnews.com

July 31-Aug. 6, 2013

These are only the answers.

42

Great Smokies Storage 10’x20’

92

$

20’x20’

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ONE MONTH

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REAL ESTATE ANNOUNCEMENT

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WAYNESVILLE HOUSING AUTHORITY

THE TOWER The Waynesville Tower Is Seeking Elderly Only Applications for 1 & 2 Bedroom Units If You Are Interested in Being Placed on Our Waiting List Contact Our Office

LAWN & GARDEN

FSBO: 3/BR 2/BA, 1544sf (+/-)

HEMLOCK HEALERS, INC. Dedicated to Saving Our Hemlocks. Owner/Operator Frank Varvoutis, NC Pesticide Applicator’s License #22864. 48 Spruce St. Maggie Valley, NC 828.734.7819 828.926.7883, Email: hemlockhealers@yahoo.com

1.24 (+/-) acres, Gated and Forested Property, 1/2 hour west of Asheville, Jackson County NC Taxes, Metal Roof, Private Well, New Septic System, Central Propane Heat & Woodstove, 2Car Carport, Decks, Insulated Windows, Privacy, Easy Access.

Reduced to $180,000 - OBO. 828.456.3573 BRUCE MCGOVERN A Full Service Realtor shamrock13@charter.net McGovern Property Management 828.283.2112.

LOTS FOR SALE 2.819 ACRE TRACT Building Lot in great location.

Build your 2nd home log cabin here. Large 2-story building, was a Hobby Shop. $71,000.

Call 828.627.2342 or Nancy at 828.506.0876.

STORAGE SPACE FOR RENT GREAT SMOKIES STORAGE Conveniently located off 19/23

by Thad Woods Auction. Available for lease now: 10’x10’ units for $55, 20’x20’ units for $160.

Get one month FREE with 12 month contract. Call 828.507.8828 or 828.506.4112 for more info.

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NICOL ARMS APARTMENTS

Office Hours Are Mon. - Fri. From 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Offering 1 & 2 Bedroom Apartments, Starting at $400

Equal Housing Opportunity

Section 8 Accepted - Handicapped Accessible Units When Available

Ann knows real estate!

Ann Eavenson CRS, GRI, E-PRO

ann@mainstreetrealty.net

506-0542 CELL 198-53

101 South Main St. Waynesville

MainStreet Realty

(828) 452-2227 mainstreetrealty.net

find us at: facebook.com/smnews

NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS

OFFICE HOURS: Tues. & Wed. 10:00am - 5:00pm & Thurs. 10:00am- 12:00pm 168 E. Nicol Arms Road Sylva, NC 28779

199-09

ROB ROLAND

July 31-Aug. 6, 2013

65 Church Street Waynesville, NC 28786 Phone: 828.452.1223 Fax: 828.452.1207

HOMES FOR SALE

WNC MarketPlace

COMPARE QUALITY & PRICE Shop Tupelo’s Today!

828.926.8778.

HAYWOOD SPAY/NEUTER Has a microchip clinic Saturday, August 3, 2013, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at our office. $15. Folks need to call us at 828.452.1329 to make an appointment. This is open to all dogs and cats in WNC.

828-564-1106

RROLAND33@GMAIL.COM

Find the home you are looking for at www.robrolandrealty.com

Equal Housing Opportunity BESSIE - ONE HAPPY DOG- HER TAIL IS ALWAYS WAGGING. SHE IS A VERY PRETTY, YOUNG FEMALE WALKER HOUND WHO WILL DO BEST IN A SINGLE DOG FAMILY. AUGUST IS ADOPT-A-HOUND MONTH SO PLEASE CONSIDER BESSIE FOR YOUR NEW BEST FRIEND!

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jsmith@beverly-hanks.com

74 N. Main St. • Waynesville

199-47

smokymountainnews.com

Phone# 1.828.586.3346 TDD# 1.800.725.2962

(828) 452-5809

www.Beverly-Hanks.com

43

WNC MarketPlace

Your Local Big Green Egg Dealer

Haywood County Real Estate Agents

BEST PRICE EVERYDAY

Beverly Hanks & Associates — beverly-hanks.com • • • • • • •

Michelle McElroy — beverly-hanks.com Marilynn Obrig — beverly-hanks.com Mike Stamey — beverly-hanks.com Ellen Sither — esither@beverly-hanks.com Jerry Smith — beverly-hanks.com Billie Green — bgreen@beverly-hanks.com Pam Braun — pambraun@beverly-hanks.com

199-70

FOR SALE

10-5 M-SAT. 12-4 SUN.

ON DELLWOOD RD. (HWY. 19) AT 20 SWANGER LANE WAYNESVILLE/MAGGIE VALLEY 828.926.8778

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*Discounts var y by states.

State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company State Farm Indemnit y Company, Blooming ton, IL

July 31-Aug. 6, 2013

Main Street Realty — mainstreetrealty.net McGovern Real Estate & Property Management • Bruce McGovern — shamrock13.com

Prudential Lifestyle Realty — vistasofwestfield.com Realty World Heritage Realty

www.smokymountainnews.com

RE/MAX — Mountain Realty remax-waynesvillenc.com | remax-maggievalleync.com Brian K. Noland — brianknoland.com Connie Dennis — remax-maggievalleync.com Mark Stevens — remax-waynesvillenc.com Mieko Thomson — ncsmokies.com The Morris Team — maggievalleyproperty.com The Real Team — the-real-team.com Ron Breese — ronbreese.com Dan Womack — womackdan@aol.com Bonnie Probst — bonniep@remax-waynesvillenc.com

The Seller’s Agency — listwithphil.com • Phil Ferguson — philferguson@bellsouth.net

199-11

TO ADVERTISE IN THE NEXT ISSUE 44

Full Service Property Management 828-456-6111 www.selecthomeswnc.com Residential and Commercial Long-Term Rentals

realtyworldheritage.com Katy Giles - realtyworldheritage.com/realestate/viewagent/7765/ Lynda Bennett - mountainheritage.com/ Martha Sawyer realtyworldheritage.com/realestate/viewagent/7769/ Linda Wester- realtyworldheritage.com/realestate/viewagent/7771/ Thomas & Christine Mallette realtyworldheritage.com/realestate/viewagent/7767/

• • • • • • • • •

WANTED TO BUY

MUSIC LESSONS 199-10

Mountain Home Properties — mountaindream.com • Sammie Powell — smokiesproperty.com

• • • • •

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828.452.4251 | ads@smokymountainnews.com

199-44

DEMOS PERCUSSION

By Nick Demos. Drum Lessons & Instruction. All ages & skill levels.

Drumset-All Styles, Hand Percussion, Rudimental/Marching, Orchestral/Band. 12yrs professional experience. 828.293.5691, NDEMOS78@verizon.net

PERSONAL WHITE MALE, NON-DRINKER, Looking for a live-in girlfriend for companionship & light housework. Any age, kids okay. 2/BR in a nice neighborhood. For more info call Donnie at 706.335.6496 or write to PO Box 411, ILA, GA 30647.

A UNIQUE ADOPTIONS, Let Us Help! Personalized adoption plans. Financial assistance, housing, relocation and more. Giving the gift of life? You deserve the best. Call us first! 888.637.8200.

24 hour HOTLINE. SAPA UNPLANNED PREGNANCY? Thinking Of Adoption? Open or closed adoption. YOU choose the family. LIVING EXPENSES PAID. Abby’s One True Gift Adoptions. Call 24/7 1.866.413.6295 SAPA

PERSONAL YOUR AD COULD REACH 1.6 MILLION HOMES ACROSS NC! Your classified ad could be reaching over 1.6 Million Homes across North Carolina! Place your ad with The Smoky Mountain News on the NC Statewide Classified Ad Network- 118 NC newspapers for a low cost of $330 for 25-word ad to appear in each paper! Additional words are $10 each. The whole state at your fingertips! It's a smart advertising buy! Call Scott Collier at 828.452.4251 or for more information visit the N.C. Press Association's website at www.ncpress.com MEET SINGLES RIGHT NOW! No paid operators, just real people like you. Browse greetings, exchange messages and connect live. Try it free. Call now 1.888.909.9978. SAPA PREGNANT? Considering Adoption? Call Us First! Living expenses, Housing, Medical and continued support afterwards. Choose Adoptive Family of Your Choice. Call 24/7. ADOPT CONNECT 1.866.743.9212. SAPA

ENTERTAINMENT SCOTTISH TARTANS MUSEUM 86 East Main St., Franklin, 828.584.7472. www.scottishtartans.org. Matthew A.C. Newsome, GTS, FSA, SCOT., Curator & General Manager, Ronan B. MacGregor, Business Assistant.

SCHOOLS/ INSTRUCTION AIRLINES ARE HIRING Train for hands on Aviation Career.

FAA approved program. Financial aid if qualified. Job placement assistance. Call Aviation Institute of Maintenance. 877.300.9494.

EARN YOUR H.S. DIPLOMA At home in a few short weeks. Work at your own pace. First Coast Academy. Nationally accredited.

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SERVICES

DISH TV RETAILER. Starting at $19.99/month (for 12 mos.) & High Speed Internet starting at $14.95/month (where available.) SAVE! Ask About SAME DAY Installation! CALL Now! 1.800.291.0612 SAPA FROG POND DOWNSIZING Helping Hands In Hard Times.

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Choose from thousands of stock images or work with us to create an original piece. All artwork and signage is cut on a new state-ofthe-art CNC plasma machine.

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MY COMPUTER WORKS: Computer problems? Viruses, spyware, email, printer issues, bad internet connections - FIX IT NOW! Professional, U.S.-based technicians. $25 off service. Call for immediate help. 1.888.582.8147 SAPA SAVE $$$ ON Auto Insurance from the major names you know and trust. No forms. No hassle. No obligation.

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CALL 1.855.834.5740.

DDI BUMPERS ETC. Quality on the Spot Repair & Painting. Don Hendershot 858.646.0871 cell 828.452.4569 office.

YARD SALE LIVING ESTATE SALE Aug. 1, 2 & 3rd from 9am to 4pm & Saturday 9am to 12:30pm. Old Metal Glider, Furniture, Housewares, Pictures, Jewelry..

Something for Everyone! Frog Pond Downsizing, 255 Dept St., Waynesville, NC.

WEEKLY SUDOKU

Super IN AT THE FINISH

CROSSWORD

73 Snazzy sleeveless jacket?

ACROSS 75 Actor Buddy 1 Hire new employees for 76 U. URL ender 8 Judge the value of 77 Morgan of country 14 Percentage on an S&L music sign 78 Diner’s card 20 Broadcast medium for 79 Article in Argentina much news and talk 80 The First State: Abbr.

21 Ontario metropolis 81 “How - ya?”

22 One in a violent mob 82 British alphabet 23 Singer Timberlake on enders parole?

84 Old Egyptian sultan 25 1844-59 king of while still naive?

Scandinavia 88 Blood fluids 26 Appearance 89 24-hr. “banker” 27 Lemon-hued log 92 Go downhill house?

93 Used-car-lot transac29 Anthropoids tion 33 Another time 95 Virgo-Scorpio link 36 Swann of the NFL 97 Small cafés 37 Actress Ellen’s com99 Film critic Leonard’s mands? booze?

41 Moral reservation 102 With 100-Down, “Now 47 Bit of a song hold on just a second!”

48 Datum in a used-car 105 Dike ad 106 Hades river 51 Virgil hero 107 Off-white seabird?

52 Letter #19 114 Lohengrin’s bride 53 LAX monitor data 116 Bob Marley’s music 56 Strip of vertical shiny 117 Sluggers’ cholesterol fabic? medication?

58 City south of Moscow 124 Bassett of films 59 Whale group 125 In spite of it 60 Longitude’s opp.

126 Prehistoric Greeks 61 - -CIO 127 Top dogs 62 Almost like 128 Wish 65 Punk rocker Joey 129 Racy genre 67 Year Bush Jr. took office DOWN 68 Sending to the canvas, 1 British rule over India in boxing 2 Very big bird 71 Actor Hoffman cleans 3 Soon-to-be grads: Abbr. the floor?

4 Tit-for- -

5 Take - view of 6 “-’s Rainbow” (old musical) 7 Precede 8 EarthLink competitor 9 Fr. nun, maybe 10 Don’t leave 11 Soften 12 Get bloated 13 “Alas ...”

14 Pop top with a crimped edge 15 Frisbee or checker 16 - -Fella Records 17 Run - (defer payment) 18 “Mr. Mom” actress Garr 19 Nickname for Ireland 24 Equips with weapons, old-style 28 Carry- - (flight totes) 29 Skilled 30 Shells out 31 Has it wrong 32 Slalom, say 34 Meanie Amin 35 Eddy and Mandela 38 Froster 39 British novelist Charles 40 Fri.-Sun. link 42 Gather leaves again 43 Sailor suits, e.g.

44 Similar to a wooden pin 45 - -di-dah 46 N.Y. hours 49 “- Girls” (CW series) 50 Fill with love 54 Arctic flier 55 Shaded walk 57 Employ 58 Most frequently 59 In demand

62 Lemon drink 63 Stand in (for) 64 Distributors 66 Early Ford 69 Diarist Anaïs 70 Lions’ victim 72 More ridiculous 73 Ivy League university 74 Gibe rudely 77 - guilt trip on (made feel at fault) 83 Painter Salvador 84 Pres. after WJC 85 Cannes king 86 Stir-fry legumes 87 River stopper 88 Whine tearfully 89 Lean against 90 Brad Pitt film 91 German socialist Karl 94 Suffix with Gotham 96 Mensa data 98 Mu - beef 100 See 102-Across 101 Landlady, e.g.

103 Bearer - news 104 - worse than death 107 Cranky type 108 Gambling city 109 Roe, e.g.

110 Gets mellow 111 Like stallions 112 Suffix with 47-Across or 91-Down 113 Classic soft drink brand 115 - cost (for free) 118 Pub 119 Broke bread 120 River isle 121 - chi 122 Execs’ mag 123 Secret govt. group

answers on page 42

Answers on Page 42

smokymountainnews.com

Place a number in the empty boxes in such a way that each row across, each column down and each small 9-box square contains all of the numbers from one to nine.

July 31-Aug. 6, 2013

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SERVICES

WNC MarketPlace

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SERVICES

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199-66

HEROES WANTED

at Charles George VA Medical Center

We invite all Veterans who haven’t enrolled or who haven’t used VA Health Care recently to sign up and use the services you have earned!

Some of our excellent services include: • Primary and Specialty Care • Pharmacy services including medications sent to your mail boxt • Secure e-mail messaging to primary care provider • Travel Pay • Home Based Primary Care • Picture VA Health Care Identification Card • New Patient Exams in some County Health Departments

The following groups of Veterans are eligible regardless of income: • Medal of Honor, Purple Heart Recipients and Prisoners of War. • Vietnam Veterans who served in the Republic of Vietnam between January 9, 1962 and May 7, 1975.

• Gulf War Veterans who served in the Southwest Asia Theater of Operations from August 2, 1990, through November 11, 1998.

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• Many other Veterans qualify. * Minimum duty requirements and nature of discharge may affect eligibility.

Contact us now to see if you are qualified!

Smoky Mountain News

July 31-Aug. 6, 2013

828-296-4462

46

Another eventful day in Bryson City

T

George Ellison

he whistle of the excursion train on the far side of the river shrieked three times. From where I sat in the graveyard on the knoll overlooking Bryson City, I could see tourists waving from their windows the way travelers never do when departing on a trip that’s really going somewhere.

It was an eventful afternoon. From my vantage point I watched a dog hike his leg and pee on the Federal Building wall. A hiker came out of Bojangles and gave him a biscuit.

He smiled the way Columnist dogs do as he watched her walk away. Then he yawned … wheeled counterclockwise as if chasing his tail … and lay down all curled up in the sun by his wall.

A flock of pigeons arose from under the lower bridge where they roost and circled the knoll on flexed wings the way pigeons do before settling one by one on the gold copula atop the old courthouse.

A breeze descended from the high country north of town and skimmed over the Tuckasegee River gathering moisture before passing through the oak grove on the knoll.

Each tree stood attentive with branches out-

BACK THEN spread over graves that had settled and intermingled generations ago. As if magnetized by the water from the river their leaves glowed in the mid-day light. A blue jay screaming “Thief!” brought me back to earth.

For some graveyards are morbid places.

When I was a boy, I never liked to pass by or walk through one … especially in the dark.

These days I rather enjoy visiting them ... for awhile. They are generally quiet. And unlike most modern cemeteries, which have few if any trees at all, graveyards usually have a variety of old sometimes ancient trees.

Trees attract the birds every graveyard requires. If there are oaks-as is usually the instance — there will be squirrels. If there are squirrels there will be blue jays. And if there are squirrels and blue jays there will always be something going on. Graveyards can be pretty lively places.

I like best to visit the graveyard overlooking Bryson City The name proclaimed on a sign at the entrance is “Bryson City Cemetery” — but, in reality, it’s an old-time graveyard. There are huge oaks, white cedars, yucca, and various shrubs. There are squirrels, blue jays, white-breasted nuthatches, and (in season) chipping sparrows. A red bird … the daughter of the sun in Cherokee lore … resides in the tangles on

the lower slope of the knoll. Every graveyard needs a red bird.

I have a favorite place to sit where I can lean back against a white oak and observe the goings-on in downtown Bryson City.

The jays scream at me and the squirrels scold. But soon enough they tire of watching me do nothing and go about their business.

What do I think about? Nothing much. I go there to sit and eat lunch and watch. In addition to several regionally-prominent permanent residents (Mark Cathey, Horace Kephart, Jack Coburn, and others) I should mention that this graveyard has a resident angel ... as every graveyard should.

It was brought here long ago by Thomas Wolfe’s father. I have written about the angel in a collection of essays titled Mountain Passages that was published by the History Press. Usually I just sit and glance over at her from a distance.

Poised on one foot on a high foundation, she is almost life size. Her wings are just about to open … but never do. Clasping a single stone lily in her right hand, she points upward towards the heavens with the other.

If you walk over to say hello, as I sometimes do, you look upward into her eternal gaze. There is no “celestial fire” but she is one of the benevolent spirits of this graveyard and the surrounding mountains.

The inimitable newspaper woman Dot Jackson described the setting in this fashion in an essay titled “In Search of the Angelic Muse:” “Despite the evidence, the sentiment persists, even among some scholars, that the angel on the porch alighted from her stony flight in Hendersonville. Her remote sister remains undisturbed in Bryson City. Below her perch, the Tuckaseigee River rolls untroubled; the tourist train rumbles, the town bustles with traffic, with its temporal small victories and woes. She stands as Thomas Wolfe wrote of Eugene Gant in the closing sentence of ‘Look Homeward, Angel,’ oblivious toward town and turmoil, pride and loss, her face toward ‘the distant, soaring ranges.’”

But I remain seated against the oak on the far side of the graveyard. The pigeons return to their roost. The dog is fast asleep by his wall. After awhile I return to my office on the town square. Yet another eventful day in Bryson City.

George Ellison wrote the biographical introductions for the reissues of two Appalachian classics: Horace Kephart’s Our Southern Highlanders and James Mooney’s History, Myths, and Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees.

Readers can contact him at P.O. Box 1262, Bryson City, N.C., 28713, or at info@georgeellison.com.

The Hickory Ridge III

July 31-Aug. 6, 2013

Introducing Model soon to be under construction at the Franklin/Cashiers Model Center

lit y a u Q f o r e Build Homes Custom 41 Years!

For Over

Smoky Mountain News

Watch for other NEW Mountain Premier Series home plans coming soon!

Franklin/Cashiers Building Center 335 NP&L Loop, Franklin, NC

828-349-0990

© 2013 America’s Home Place, Inc. Home designs represented on this page are property of America’s Home Place and are intended for demonstration purposes only. Prices are base price only and do not include closing cost, land, or site improvements to land. Prices subject to change without notice. Renderings may show upgrades not included in price.

47

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Smoky Mountain News

July 31-Aug. 6, 2013

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